Don't Let Go
by arilovexo
Summary: "Please, don't let go," She whispered, holding on to him tight. "I wasn't going to," He whispered back and closed his eyes, hugging her close. Or, Ross comes back from being on tour, only to find that his relationship with Laura is rockier than ever. It's up to him to fix what he did or lose her forever. Ross/Laura
1. Chapter 1

**First story in the Austin and Ally world. I haven't been writing much because I've been busy so if you know me from the Degrassi world, I'll update soon. Hope you like this, I think it's pretty awesome. **

**I dont own a thing. **

* * *

Ross sighed, running his fingers through his hair as a reporter in front of him asked about his band. Beside him, his sister was nodding and answering questions, while he just seemed somewhat out of it. He knew the camera was picking up on his uneasiness as it usually always did and seeing someone out of sorts wasn't exactly that difficult to point out.

Then the topic of _Austin and Ally _came up and he froze.

Rydel looked at him and he looked back at her. She then understandably nodded her head and put a hand on his shoulder, about to say something, but he stopped her.

"We go back for filming the third season in a couple of weeks," He finally answered.

"Are you excited to be back with your castmates?"

He didn't really know how to answer that. Sure he was excited to see his crazy friend, Calum and the sweet smart ass Raini, but there was one thing holding him back from being pumped about it and it was because of _her_.

Laura.

"Yeah, I mean, what's not to be excited about? I get to see my friends again." He smoothly answered, hopefully giving off the vibe that everything was just fine and dandy with everyone.

The reporter nodded, and then she smiled, looking over his shoulder. "Look who's here, your _other half_." Ross looked confused for a moment until he spun around and he saw her. Right there. In front of him for the first time since he last saw her six months before.

"Hey!" Rydel was the first to break the tension, _thank god_. She wrapped her arms around the petite girl and hugged her.

"Hey," Laura answered a smile on her face. Ross was happy to see that she still had her bubbly personality still in tact. Though he could see it was probably being a bit over used. She then turned to him and they stared at each other for a few moments, before he just shook his head and threw one arm around her hugging her close to him. She reacted by hugging him back just as close and then just like they they released each other.

"Well, now that both _Austin and Ally _here, why don't we just continue this interview with you both?"

Ross and Laura exchanged a look.

"Well, I sort of have to…" Laura began.

"I've actually got to get inside," Ross continued, nodding his head in the direction of the building the TCAs were being held in. "I have to meet up with…" He trailed off for a moment, locking eyes with Laura. He really didn't want to say her name. "…Maia." He finished.

"Maia?" The reporter looked confused.

"They were in a movie together," Rydel jumped in, noticing that neither Ross or Laura were going to speak as she had an unhappy look in her eyes and he was just unsure of what to say. "_Teen Beach Movie_, it's premiering this summer actually, right Ross?"

He broke out of his trance and nodded, "Yeah. It's great, guys. You uh, should really check it out." He smiled then to make sure that the reporter knew everything was okay and wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Alright, well, Laura, really fast. _Austin and Ally _is going to be filming again soon, how do you feel about it?"

"Great!" Laura's eyes lit up. "I can't wait!" Wow, Ross thought, either she was trying to hide something like he was or she was actually genuinely excited about going back to filming. "I can't wait to see Raini and Calum again, though I think I'll probably be seeing them tonight, but filming with them is always fun."

No one missed how she left out Ross and that hurt him a little bit. Though he tried not to let it show or blame her really. After the way they left things a few months ago, he really wasn't too surprised with the way she was acting towards him.

The reporter though didn't let it go. "What about him?" She asked, motioning with her eyes towards Ross.

Laura nodded, the smile back on her face, "Of course! When am I _not _super excited to film with him?" She threw her arm around his neck for emphasis and hugged him. "He's the best to work with." Ross really couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not, so he just smiled and nodded, looking at her.

"Yeah, working with her isn't so bad…" He said, "Except when she eats too much candy. Oh man, when that happens it's best to avoid her for a good two to three hours."

"Hey!" Laura's mouth dropped open and both Ross and Rydel burst out laughing.

He shrugged and she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. He did, however, see the small smile on her lips as she looked away.

"Alright, well thank you both so much for chatting with us today and you, Rydel, thank you."

"Of course."

"Yeah, absolutely."

"No problem."

All three of them said together as the camera was then shut off and the reporter moved on to another celebrity she saw just a few feet away.

Ross turned to his sister and Laura. Laura looked at him a moment, before she just set her mouth in a thin line and stormed away from him, not saying a word. He just sighed and looked at his sister.

"What was that about?" Rydel asked as they both walked down the carpet towards the entrance to the venue. "She acted like you killed her cat or something."

Ross shrugged, "Maybe she's just having a bad day."

Rydel shook her head, "No, there's more to this story." She stopped him from going inside. "Six month ago, you two were the best of friends, happy and excited to be around each other. And now she seems like she can't even stand to be near you."

"That easy to see huh?" Ross asked and Rydel nodded. "Alright, well, I have no idea what her problem is, so… yeah. I'm just gonna go inside and meet up with Maia. We have to present today and they want to go over a few things with us." He started to slowly back away from her.

"There's more you're not telling me," She called out to him, "And I'm gonna find out what it is!"

He just waved his hand in the air and walked off. Hopefully, Laura kept her mouth shut if Rydel went to talk to her. He really wasn't in the mood for an interrogation.

* * *

He sat down in the seat beside Rocky, who turned around and noticed he was there.

"Hey bro, how did the whole rehearsal thing go?"

He shrugged, "Fine." He answered, pulling out his phone he unlocked it and started to play a game, while he waited for the show to start.

"Everything okay?" He asked and Ross nodded.

"Everything's totally cool." He didn't miss the sarcastic undertone in his voice, so he just ignored it. Hopefully his brother did too.

He was so into his phone that he didn't notice there was someone next to him, until Ratliff said, "Hey, Laura! Good to see you!"

He looked at him confused and then he pointed behind him where he saw Laura was right there. She glared at him and he just rolled his eyes.

"You know, you could be a little more sympathetic," She whispered to him.

"You could at least stop trying to kill me with your eyes," He shot back. "I said I told you I was sorry. What more do I have to—" She didn't let him finish. Instead, she stood up and abruptly stormed off up the aisle. He watched her leave, now officially pissed off. He didn't listen to Rocky or Ratliff's calls and instead went after her. He found her at the entrance to the auditorium and grabbed her wrist, spinning her around. "What the fuck Laura?"

"Let me go!" She ordered him, just as Debby passed by them and raised an eyebrow. Ross quickly let her go and she straightened her shirt out before smiling over at the fellow Disney star.

"Everything okay?" She asked and they nodded.

"Yeah, we were just messing around," Laura told her, not making any eye contact with Ross who just nodded as well.

"Alright, well, I'll see you inside then."

Laura nodded and with that, Debby left. She turned to Ross, "Wow, good going, you almost got us caught."

"You're the one being rude," Ross argued, "At least _try _to act like you want me around instead of like you could care less about me."

"Wow, you got that completely right. I don't want to be around you. Because I don't. I don't even want to—"

"Okay, I get it, Laura. But if you still want this to be a secret that only we both know, I think it's best you act like we're cool unless you want everyone to start asking questions. Rydel is already suspicious enough, let's not give her more of a reason to be."

Laura didn't say anything and for a second he thought she was just going to walk away, when she cracked a wry smile. "Then we probably shouldn't be having this conversation in the middle of a venue where everyone can see and hear us talking."

"Okay, point Laura." He answered. "So, can we please just act cool so that everyone will think we're cool?"

Laura nodded. "Fine."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

"Oh come on, not that again!"

They both turned and saw Sterling was just walking into the auditorium. He shuddered, "That brings back some memories. Got major ass whoopings for that one."

Laura laughed. Ross laughed with her and then walked towards the entrance to go meet up with Sterling.

"What kind of memories are we talking?"

"Long nights with Demi, filming _Sonny with a Chance_. Not bad ones, but we had to rehearse that fifty million times a day to the point where we'd do it without even realizing we were."

Ross locked eyes with Laura, "I know that feeling."

She looked away.

"Well, nice seeing you, I got to go find my seat. See you guys later?"

They both nodded and with that he walked away. Laura awkwardly stood there, while Ross was more uncomfortable.

"We should…" She began and he nodded, agreeing.

"Yeah." He answered back. "Let's go."

* * *

Laura actually ended up being in the seat in front of him. And the whole time he couldn't help but stare at the back of her head. He didn't really care about who won what awards and who was doing something totally insane on stage. He just really wanted Laura to forgive him for what happened, but it didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon.

"Hey." Rydel whispered, lightly hitting his arm. "You have to go backstage."

He blinked and realization set in. "Oh shit, thanks for reminding me. You're a life saver, Rydel."

She nodded and sat back as he got out of his seat and quietly left the auditorium. He soon found where the back stage area was and opened the door, going up the stairs he saw Maia was already waiting for him.

"Hey!" She smiled and hugged him, "I know I saw you a couple hours ago, but nice seeing you again."

He smiled, "Yeah, you too."

"Nervous?" She asked him and he shook his head. He never got nervous. Not really. Well, except when he was around Laura, that was a bit nerve-wracking he had to admit. But lately not so much since she basically hated him. Maia seemed to sense he was distressed, "Hey, are you alright?"

He nodded, "Why wouldn't I be?" He was really getting sick of these questions.

"You just seem distracted is all. I know you just got back from tour, how was it?"

"Amazing." He smiled. "All those screaming fans… all yelling your name and singing your songs. It's really a great feeling."

Maia smiled, "I bet it is."

"You should come sing with us on one of the sets," He suggested. "We could see a cover or one of the songs from the movie."

She nodded, "I think I'd be into that." They laughed and the stage hand told them that it was time for them to get ready to present. They got to their places and then their names were announced. They did there thing (with Miley almost killing Ross with her surfboard) and then were off the stage and back in their seats in no time.

"Wow, that was interesting." Rydel commented and Ross rolled his eyes.

To his surprise, Laura turned around to face them. "Miley was kind of a bitch there," She said, locking eyes with Ross. "You didn't really deserve that." That surprised him to say the least.

To her surprise, his just shrugged. "Actually, I think I did." He answered back and Laura just wordlessly turned around, not saying another word.

He ignored the looks his band was giving him and just sighed, settling down in his seat more, he just continued to watch the show in silence.

* * *

He was standing by himself, one foot up against the building and was tapping his fingers on his leg, when he felt the presence of someone in front of him. He looked up to see it was the last person he expected to see: Laura.

"What are you doing here?" They both asked together. Laura smiled at how in sync they still were with each other, before repeating the question.

"It got stuffy in there, I just wanted to get some fresh air, you?"

"I saw you leave." She admitted and moved to stand beside him on the wall. It was silent in between them for a few moments, before she continued, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked her softly. "One of my best friends is pissed off at me and Miley just basically treated me like shit, so here we are."

She didn't miss the sarcasm in his tone at all.

"Okay, look, you really didn't deserve her doing that, but she's not part of _our _problems." Laura used her finger to gesture in between them. "And though I'm still incredibly mad at you and the whole situation, I just wanted to come here and I don't know… call a truce or something."

He raised an eyebrow, "We're not at war, Laura."

"Well it seems like we are." She sighed, looking down a moment before looking back at him again. "We go back for filming in two weeks and I'm pretty sure _Austin and Ally _aren't supposed to be mad at each other. Or at least she isn't anyway. So I'm willing to put my differences aside if you are."

He shrugged, "Fine."

"That's it? Just one word?"

"What else do you want me to say, Laura? I can't read your mind. I mean, you were cold towards me the moment you saw me talking to the reporter and then we almost got caught arguing and then you expect me to just agree to a truce? Are we even ever going to talk about what happened?"

"So that's a no then." Laura answered, taken aback by what he'd said. He just blinked at her confused.

It was silent again. Uncomfortably and so awkwardly silent.

"Whatever," Ross muttered a little while later. "I'll call a damn truce if that's what you want."

"Thanks." She bit her lip and then he lifted his head to look at her. They locked eyes and it took everything in her to not push forward and kiss him. She had to remind herself that she was still incredibly pissed at him.

But that was getting a bit more difficult as time passed by.

"So, see ya around I guess, or in two weeks." He whispered and with that, walked back inside the building leaving her outside to think about what had just happened all alone. But she wasn't alone for too long. She thought fast and got up to go talk to him. Just as he was about to open the door to go back inside to the awards, she grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"You don't have the right to be like this," She said, her tone cold. "I do, okay? You hurt _me_, I didn't hurt you."

"Why is this suddenly about you?" He snapped.

"You brought this on yourself, I didn't do anything."

"Right, you didn't do anything. Sure thing, Laura." His tone was so cold, she took a step back. He only stepped closer to her. "Don't put it all on me, I feel shitty enough about it."

She stared at him, swallowing hard, before she responded with, "Good."

He realized then that all of their "making up" that night was for nothing. She was still going to be a pain in the ass.

But instead of saying a word, he just shook his head and walked passed her in the opposite direction.

"Hey dude, the awards are that way." Some security guy said, "Pretty sure you have to stick around until it's over with."

"I'm not feeling too well," Ross told him, as he snuck a glance at Laura who was just staring at the ground. "If you see my brothers or sister just tell them I went home."

The security guard nodded and with that, Ross stormed through the entranceway, the door hitting the building hard behind him.

And all Laura could do was watch, her eyes blurring her vision as her heart broke into millions of pieces.

* * *

**Review and let me know what you think, or if I should continue it or not. Thanks guys a million! You're amazing. And I'm glad to be back :D **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I've never done this before, but I pretty much had this chapter already written out. And bad news, as I've already planned out the story, you won't really know what happened between them that made Laura so angry for a few chapters, though I'll be dropping subtle hints. If you catch them and figure it out, I'll give you a virtual cookie. **

**Good news, it's not so hostile in between them after this chapter. Spoiler alert, sorry.**

**Enjoy. And I'm glad you guys already love it! :) **

* * *

It was the first thing she heard the second she stepped foot on set two weeks later. The beautiful melody floated from the Sonic Boom set all the way to her dressing room, where she dropped off her school bag. After making sure everything was okay and where it needed to be, she continued her walk all the way to set, where she saw Calum was leaning against the piano while Ross was the one playing it.

He chose that exact moment to look up at her and catch her eye.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Hey." He responded back, emotionless as he went back to playing the piano. She felt tears come to her eyes, but bit them back hard to keep from crying in front of him. She wouldn't let him have that satisfaction.

"Hey, Laura." Calum smiled at her.

She smiled back and walked over to him, giving him a hug. They let go a few seconds later. Ross still stared at her, an emotionless look in his eyes.

"So, how was your uh… break?" Calum asked and Laura was greatful for the obviously needed distraction.

"It was fine, got a lot of school work done."

Ross continued to play the piano, ignoring the conversation. She wasn't sure hearing things, but as he played his pressed down on the keys harder, to the point where he was messing up a bit.

"Uh, yours?" She asked, Calum a moment later, giving Ross and confused look. He still ignored her.

"It was fine…" Calum responded casually. "I went back home, visited mom had a great time."

She smiled, "That's amazing."

Calum nodded. At that moment, Ross had decided he had enough and abruptly stood up, storming away. Laura turned to Calum.

"Go ahead." He looked at her through his eyelashes, "I'll go find Raini."

Laura gave him a nod and with that, ran after him. She was able to catch up to him, just as he was about to exit Sonic Boom. Wow, she thought. It actually felt like they were their characters for a second there. Shaking away that thought, she grabbed his wrist and spun him around.

"What?" He mumbled.

"Why are you being such a jerk?" She demanded. "Stop ignoring me."

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Laura blinked, confused. "What? No. I asked you for a truce, one that you agreed to, _two weeks ago_."

He shrugged. "I take it back then."

"You can't do that!" Laura nearly shouted at him. "You can't be mad at me over something that was _your _fault."

"Yeah, maybe it was. But it wasn't entirely my fault." He pointedly glared at her. "You were the one who chose not to speak to me for six months, you were the one who completely blew me off at the Teen Choice Awards and _you_ were the one who yelled at me that same night. I have a huge part in this, but don't act like you had no part in it whatsoever."

"It's nice that you're pointing fingers." She snapped, "Go to hell, Ross."

"Yeah, yeah. That's real nice, totally gonna get me to be civilized with you. Great going Laura," He gave her the thumbs up as he turned to walk away. "Real great friend I have."

"Shut up." She snapped, her hands going to her hair, she closed her eyes. "Just shut up!"

"Stop being a bitch and maybe I will." He snapped back at her, his voice getting louder.

She was grateful no one was around because she was _thisclose_ to slapping Ross in the face. Point blank as hard as she could.

"You're the one who's acting like the jerk, not me." She said, her tone quieter, "We're here to work, you know, because we have _jobs_."

"Yeah, and I intend to keep mine. And if this conversation with you keeps up, there's a slim chance I will. You do what you want though." He shrugged and backed away. She didn't say anything so he just turned around and kept going all the way until he was out of her sight.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to throw something and have a full blown tantrum. Ross was being unfair. Sure, she had somewhat started it when he got back, but she was mad at him for a reason, a reason that was completely all on him.

Letting out a frustrated yell, she stormed all the way to her dressing room and slammed the door hard. Then she fell face first onto the couch and just laid there until she was called to go in for read through.

Though it was the very last thing she wanted to do at that moment because she had to sit right beside the person she couldn't stand the most at that moment.

* * *

"Wow, it's so tense," Calum whispered to Raini who nodded her head. They both sat across the room, where they both had a clear view of Ross and Laura. "Look at them, they're not even sitting close together or joking around like they used to."

"Something's going on," Raini observed. "Something not good."

"Oh really, I thought it was something amazing," Calum responded back sarcastically, only to earn an eye roll from Raini in return.

"Okay, Laura, take it from your line," Kevin told her.

She slowly looked up from her script and nodded, her eyes going back down. She said it and then it was Ross' turn.

After a while, they both started to mess up and it started to irritate them both.

"Just stay focused and stop getting distracted," Ross snapped at her.

Laura felt tears come to her eyes, though she bit her lower lip hard to keep them away. "Fuck off." She whispered low enough that only he could hear it.

"Okay, guys, it's fine. Just take it from the beginning of the scene."

Laura tried again, but her vision started to go blurry and she couldn't read anymore. She stammered and saw in the corner of her eye that Ross was getting more and more annoyed with her. Not that she blamed him really.

She looked down a moment, closing her eyes, before shaking her head and standing up. "I'm sorry, but I can't—I can't do this right now." And with that, she hurried out of the room, wiping her eyes as she did.

"What the hell was that?" Calum asked the question that was on everyone's mind but Ross'.

"I'll go see if she's okay."

"No, Raini, you stay here." Kevin told her and she slowly did as he asked, looking at him confused. "She's clearly got an issue with Ross, so Ross, you're going to go see if she's okay."

Ross, who had been sitting with his head hanging low in his hand, snapped up to look at him. "What?"

"Go." Kevin told him and he just sighed irritably. He stomped both feet to the ground and then stood up. He wordlessly walked out of the room and down towards the dressing room. He found Laura's in no time, knocked on it and waited for her to answer.

* * *

"Go away." He heard.

"Can't." He said and he imagined her eyebrows raising as she looked both shocked and confused, before the door opened, only to reveal that he was right.

"You are the last person I want to see right now," Her voice was cracking her eyes red and her cheeks wet as she pointed at him.

"Yeah, well, Kevin said I had to come make sure you're alright. Though I think he just wants me to apologize or whatever."

"Good, leave." She attempted to close the door, but Ross put his foot in between the door and the door frame so that it prevented it from happening.

"I really don't want to lose my job today."

"You are so… annoying!"

"Really? That's best you can do?"

She realized at that moment that they were actually having a normal, somewhat civil conversation. Or, really more like their usual banter.

She had also realized that he had managed to slip through the door and into her dressing room. He sat on her couch, his legs taking over the whole thing, and leaned back on his hands, looking up at her as she closed the door.

Ross, you are such a little shit, she thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

"So we're just gonna stay here then until we come to an agreement?"

Ross shrugged, "I guess so. I don't know. I didn't come here with instructions."

"Wow, good one," She responded narrowing her eyes. She wiped away her tears and sat down at her desk. "Fine then, if you're gonna stay, shut up and let me do my homework."

"Fine by me, I'll just nap."

Great to know he'd rather sleep than make up with her. At that point she was too pissed off to care whether or not she was on good terms with him. He clearly didn't, so in her mind, she figured she shouldn't either.

So turning away from him, she sat with her textbook on her lap and her notebook on top of it, and began to do her homework, ignoring the fact that the boy in her room was the very boy who was making her wish she'd never met him and happy that she did, all at once.

* * *

"Y should equal four."

Laura nearly jumped ten feet in the air when she snapped her head up only to see that Ross was standing above her. He pointed at the math equation in front of them. "You have to divide the equation by y and you get your answer, four."

"How did you—?"

"You looked like you were struggling with it, so I took a look at it and figured it out."

She was touched that he had helped her. Though it wasn't too difficult of an equation, it still made her feel warm inside.

"And I figured something else out too," He said with a sigh. "I hurt you…" He trailed off, "_again_ today and I'm sorry."

She didn't really know how to answer to that, so she just shrugged and nodded. "It's fine."

"No it isn't." He started. "It's not okay."

"Look, Ross, I'm over it, okay? I don't mean to be rude, but I really have to get my homework done and you talking about how sorry you are isn't going to help me at all."

She could see the hurt in his eyes and face as she said it. "You won't even listen to me."

She bit her lip and looked away. It was for the best, she figured. She looked at the clock above her bulletin board. "We have to leave anyways," At his confused look she let out a sigh. "It's time to go home." She clarified as if she was talking to a four year old.

"Fine, you wont listen to me… I'll make you." Ross told her, but instead of doing anything, he just walked out of the room. That confused her more than ever.

But then again, she thought. Ross had always been that way. Hot one second and cold the next. Even he was hard to read sometimes.

* * *

He called her three times, but she didn't answer.

_I'm busy Ross, what do you want? _

Well at least she texted, it was a start, he figured.

_I want to talk to you. _

_You can't expect me to be all buddy buddy with you after today. I don't want to listen to what you have to say. _

_What if it was so that everyone else wasn't so uncomfortable around us? _He texted back after a few moments.

He got a reply twenty minutes later.

_Maybe if you stop making it obvious, we wouldn't have an issue. _

Wow, she was definitely still feeling those hard feelings. He rolled his eyes and looked to his nightstand where he saw his keys. Making a quick decision, he grabbed them and quickly ran out of the house, yelling to his sister that he'd be back later.

He parked in front of her house and knocked on the door. She opened it her eyes wide for a moment, before they narrowed and she looked pissed off all over again.

"What are you doing here?"

"You wont answer my calls."

"There's a good reason for that," She rudely responded back.

"You cant keep shutting me out," Ross tried not to look as pained as he felt. "I know I was jerk today, but come on, Laura. We're best friends, we're partners, we're costars, we're…"

"I get it." Laura cut him off.

"Look, you agreed that we should stay away from each other, though, that's kinda hard considering we're shooting a tv show together, but you get what I mean."

"Unfortunately," She muttered.

"Anyway, you decided that all on your own. I didn't get a say in it and I was gone for six months, think you got that alone time you needed?"

"Not really. I still think I need it."

"We're back shooting for the next season, stop doing this. Okay? Just stop being stubborn."

"I'm not the one who's stubborn!" She nearly yelled at him, causing him to step back. "You're the one who was a jerk today, you called me a bitch and you—you were just rude." Her eyes filled with tears. "I didn't cry today because of something Calum said, it was because of what you said and what you did."

"I'm sorry." He whispered, "Okay? I'm really, really sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough." She blinked, "I'd say sorry back but that'll ruin the whole effect of this conversation so…"

He wanted to laugh, but he didn't.

Instead he grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him, barely giving her enough time to close the door, before they reached his car. She struggled the whole way, but he rolled his eyes and sat her down in the passenger's seat. Then he quickly got in the car, only to see she was sulking in the front seat like a toddler who didn't get their ice cream.

"I'm not leaving," He told her. "If this takes all night then fine. I'll wait all night." He started the car as she just stared in disbelief at him. "Put on your seatbelt."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

She rolled her eyes and put her seat belt on, turning to the window, she just glared out of it as he pulled away from the curb and started driving to god knows where.

"You know this counts as kidnapping right?" She spoke after a tense fifteen minutes of awkward silence.

"You'll be fine," He told her. "I'm not going to… nevermind." He said quickly. She raised an eyebrow in question at that but he just shook his head, turning up the radio.

After another ten minutes passed they were at what looked to be a lookout. He stopped the car and looked at her. She looked back at him, now officially confused.

"Scream," He told her and she made a face, surprised. "I mean, you feel like screaming right? So, go outside and just let it out. No one's here, it's just me and you. You can scream in front of the whole damn city if you want to. I don't care, but just let it out."

She paused, looking at her hands and he wondered if he wierded her out or something. To his surprise, she looked up at him.

"Aren't you going to scream too?"

"What?"

"I'm not the only one who has to let something out," She said quietly, "So, I'll only do it, if you do it too."

"Don't be scared." He told her honestly and staring _right _at her.

She swallowed, "I'm not." She answered just as quietly. "I just don't want to do it alone."

Well, okay, he wasn't expecting her to say that.

"Fine." He said a moment later, "Let's go do it, together." She nodded and unbuckled herself. She opened the door and got out, Ross soon joining her on the other side, they walked to the edge where there was a ledge they could lean against if they wanted to.

It was silent for a few moments before a familiar song lyric popped into Laura's mind.

"You know who the Jonas Brothers are right?"

Ross scoffed, "You forget I have a sister."

"Well, anyway," She ignored that. "Three years ago, they released a song that came out with the show they had, and it was called _Feelin' Alive _or something like that. It was my favorite song and really described my summer that year. Anyway, there was this lyric that really stood out to me." He nodded for her to continue. "_Have you ever felt like standing on a rooftop, have you ever wanted to scream_… and this moment, this one right now is making me think of it."

He had to smile at that, "Well, then… what are you waiting for?" He asked her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and then without warning she let out a loud scream, one that would've probably made police worried about her if they were in the area. She paused and then let it out again, hitting her hand against the railing as she did.

After a few moments, she stopped and let out a breath, tears in her eyes as she looked at Ross, her hands in her hair.

"Your turn." She said quietly.

He nodded and took a deep breath, then to her surprise he let out a loud yell and started to move all around, talking nonsense as he did. He motioned for her to join and she started yell out curse words and basically everything that was making her upset.

Then she got up on the railing and stood there, her feet wobbling, she put both her arms up and just let out a cheer. Ross was laughing as he came up behind her and put both hands on either side of her so if she fell he'd at least be able to catch her.

She stopped a moment later and leaned backwards, he caught her effortlessly and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They stared at each other for a few moments, before Laura was the first to break the silence. "I knew you were going to catch me."

"I always do, don't I?" He asked, gently putting her down on her feet. She still kept her arms around him though, so he put his hands on her waist.

"That was amazing." She whispered into his chest, leaning her head against it. "I feel so much better."

"I knew you would." He whispered back into her hair.

"I'm sorry for not listening to you." Laura looked up at him, "I should've and I'm sorry."

"We can just agree that we're both sorry about everything that happened and just… move on I guess?" He suggested, half questioning it. "There's nothing we can do to change the past," He added as an after thought.

"I know, there isn't."

"But we can sure as hell control the future and make it somewhat bearable." He joked only to earn a playful smack from Laura in return. He wrapped his arms around her tighter. "Thanks for not hating me," He whispered.

"Thanks for not giving up," She whispered back. "And…" She added, pulling back slightly. "For not letting me go."

He knew what she meant.

"Never." His spoke, so sure of himself. "I'd never give up on you or let you go."

And that formed a whole new set of butterflies in her stomach she hadn't felt in a while. Smiling to herself, she just cuddled her head into his chest and closed her eyes.

She was happy again and she knew by the way he was holding her, that Ross was too.

* * *

**Yeah, I know. Ross is a jerk at first, but can you blame him? Personally, I don't, but at the same time, he shouldn't have been so rude towards her, ya know?**

**Review/rate/subscribe lol, just let me know what you think! :D **


	3. Chapter 3

**This is kinda cute, drama starts within this chapter (though not really, it's hard to explain). **

**And I got a review (thanks for them all by the way!) saying that Laura is out of character. Yeah, she is. Basically they both will be and for the whole story as it'll work that way for what I'm trying to do. **

**Enjoy, I own nothing. **

* * *

Laura laughed as Ross tackled her, her back on the couch as she stared up at him, his hands going to her waist, he started to tickle her, causing her to go into a whole new set of giggles.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" She tried to move, but he wouldn't let her. Smirking at her, he just laid down right beside her, which then caused her to fall off. That made him laugh pretty hard.

She glared at him from the ground.

"So clumsy, you are, Laura." He laughed.

"You're not Yoda." She responded, getting up, she leaned on the couch, her feet in front of her as she sat in front of it. Ross put his head on one of his hands, and looked down at her. He reached forward and started to play with her hair. She smiled and leaned back, looking up at him. "Don't stop… that feel so good."

He pretended to irritably sigh, "_Fine_." She giggled, and switched her position so that she was more comfortable and closed her eyes, relaxing.

She was so happy they were back to their normal, bantering selves. Ever since that night Ross demanded she go with her to scream her head off, she felt, in a strange way closer to him. Though she was still mad, she realized he was right. He couldn't change the past, but he could make the future brighter.

After he had dropped her off at home, she went upstairs to her room and just lay all night thinking over everything that had happened between them in the last six months and had decided that though he'd messed up badly, not having him in her life would suck. And she didn't want that, she wanted him in her life.

So she told him that at five in the morning, surprised he was still awake when she had sent the text. He told her he felt the same and that's how they were where they were now. Playing around and making each other relax.

"Laura, come up here," Ross told her and she turned to him, opening her eyes and raising an eyebrow. "Just do it, I'm not going to do anything to you, I promise."

"Right." She muttered, but did as he had asked. As she began to get up, he moved over, and she sat down beside him, before laying down, their bodies _so _close to one another's. He put one arm around her, and she laid her head on his chest, as his fingers went back to playing with her hair. She smiled and let out a happy sigh, cuddling closer to him. "I don't want to move… can I just stay like this forever?"

"Sure, but what if you had to pee?"

She smacked him and he laughed.

"Kidding."

She lifted her head to give him a 'wtf' look and rolled her eyes before laying her head back down again. She felt Ross move a bit underneath her, but soon he was comfortable and he continued to play with her hair as she felt herself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A loud knock woke them both up and Ross rubbed his eyes as Laura slightly sat up, taking a deep breath, she called out, "Come in!" And then laid back down, her body facing up as Ross threw one arm over his face and closed his eyes.

"Hey Laura What are you—_doing_?" She heard a gasp soon after that statement. Opening her eyes more, she saw that it was Raini who had quickly run out of the room and came back literally twenty seconds later with Calum.

"Alright, I'm officially confused." He said and Raini nodded in agreement.

"What's there to be confused about?" Ross asked, his eyes still closed, "It's not the first time you've seen Laura and I asleep before."

"Yeah, but just yesterday you two were ready to kill each other," Raini pointed out. "What changed between then and now?"

"Yeah, and Ross, what's your secret? You know, so that I can know for future reference if I ever piss off a girl."

"We…" Laura trailed off, looking at him. He opened one eye and looked back at her. He gave her a nod. "We just had a moment, and it made us see things differently." He smiled at her answer, satisfied with it. She turned to their two friends. "Look, we really didn't want things to be uncomfortable for everyone here, so we just decided to apologize to each other and move on."

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense to be mad about something we cant change." Ross added.

"Do you mind if we ask what the problem was in the first place?" Raini asked and Laura and Ross exchanged a look. Laura sat up and Ross did the same behind her, rubbing his eyes as he did.

"It doesn't matter," Calum said a moment later, saving them from having to answer. "What matter's now is that you two are cool and we're all back to being the crazy ass crazies we are around here."

Laura laughed and Calum high-fived her.

"Yeah, Calum's right. Glad to have you two back," Raini smiled and Ross nodded looking at Laura, they smiled at each other and then turned towards their friends, a mischievous look in their eyes. Raini stepped back, "I hate when you two do that non-verbal communication thing because then Calum and I get the shitty end of it. So, on that note, I'm just gonna turn around and you know, run for my life."

"You can't." Laura shook her head.

"Why…not?" Raini asked a bit fearfully.

"Damn!" Calum stomped his foot at the same time she spoke.

"Because…" Laura began, tapping Ross' hand. "You won't have time to run." And with that they both jumped off the couch. Ross jumped on Calum's back and Laura tackled Raini. All four of them laughed as they all fell to the ground, landing on their backs.

"Like I said…" Raini began. "Glad to have you two back."

Ross and Laura smiled at each other. Ross' hand going on top of hers, he squeezed it and let go.

"Glad to be back." He responded and Laura looked up, rolling her eyes. He noticed her smile never left her face the whole time.

* * *

_You should come over for dinner_.

Laura picked up her ancient phone, reading the text as her sister walked in, throwing her keys on the counter in front of her.

_Is that an invitation? _She quickly texted back.

_No, at this point, I'd say it's a demand. _She laughed out loud at Ross' text, looking up to see Vanessa was looking at her, her eyebrow raised in question.

"Fun day of filming?" She asked as she turned to the refrigerator to get something to drink.

"No, well, yeah…" Laura trailed off. "Ross just sent me a funny message."

Vanessa closed the door to the fridge and looked at her, "You two are on speaking terms again?"

_Such a demanding child, do you want ice cream with that demand? _She sent him and looked at her sister, putting her phone beside her, she picked up her pencil and chewed on it for a moment.

"Yeah, we are. I mean… we're on the same show, the lead characters if you want to be specific. So we agreed to just let our… whatever it was go."

"So you two had a long talk then?"

Not exactly.

"Sure, if you want to call it that, then yeah. We did. There's no sense in making everyone else miserable if the issue's just with us. But even then, we didn't want to make each other miserable, so we apologized and moved on." She was getting tired of constantly explaining it to everyone and hoped her sister didn't detect the annoyance in her tone. "He's my best friend, you know? I can't stay mad at him forever."

Vanessa nodded, "Probably what's best." She started to walk out of the kitchen, when she stopped and turned towards her again. "What as the problem in between you two anyway?"

She normally talked to Vanessa about _everything_, she was after all, one of her best friends. But she knew this one she couldn't quite talk to her about.

"We just realized it was stupid."

"It couldn't have been, if it lasted six months." Vanessa pointed out. "You weren't yourself the last six months and I could see it was because you two weren't speaking."

"He was on tour."

"It's not his first one. You two have kept in touch with each other before on his other ones."

"I got busy."

"That's not an excuse."

"Look, Vanessa, it wasn't something that changed anything." Lie. "But it was something that bothered both of us, I guess me more than him and I was holding it against him because I was… bothered by it." She was started to chose her words carefully.

"You're not gonna tell me what it is, are you?"

"Not a chance."

Vanessa shrugged, "worth a shot."

Laura gave her a grateful smile, "I'm not telling you because I don't trust you, I mean, no one knows. It's something that happened in between us and it's going to stay in between us."

"I understand." Vanessa nodded, "As annoyed as I am that you won't spill, I'm happy you're happy again." She winked at her and left. Laura looked down and blushed. She looked back up again as her phone vibrated and her eye caught on to a manila envelope.

She opened the text just as she grabbed the envelope and read what Ross had sent her back.

_Yes, chocolate with sprinkles on top. _

She had to laugh at that.

_Whatever, I'll see you in an hour. _

Her phone vibrated with his response a moment later, but by then she had opened the envelope and pulled the papers out of it.

_Ellen, you can't hide her away from me forever. Let me meet her. Please. - Damiano_

That was all the paper said. Furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion, she tried to find anything else that would give her a hint as to who had sent it and what it was for, but came up empty handed.

The front door opened then and she hurriedly put the message into the envelope, sitting it where it belonged, before going back to doing her homework, just as her mother walked in.

"Hey, Laura." She looked up to her smiling mother. "How was your day?"

Laura shrugged, "Same as usual." She answered, "Went to work, came home and now I'm doing some homework."

Ellen nodded, "Very good. Want anything in particular for dinner?"

Laura shook her head, "I'm going over to Ross'."

"Alright, that's fine. Be home at a decent hour though, you've got an early call time tomorrow."

Laura fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm aware."

"Just reminding you."

Laura nodded and her mother left. She sighed to herself as she tried to think of what the letter could've meant, but still had no idea. Though, she was seeing Ross later and with his experience of having four siblings, he might actually be helpful.

Smiling to herself, she got up and started to get ready to go see her wild and childish costar.

* * *

_I'm outside weirdo._

As soon as Ross got the message, he threw open the door only to see Laura on the other side of it. She threw her arms around him and hugged him. He hugged her back, then stepped back, putting his finger to his lips as he family had no idea she was coming or that they had even made up. She nodded and smiled at him.

"Ross? Dinner!" They heard his mother call. Her put her behind him and started to walk towards the kitchen. He nonchalantly walked in, Laura in full view right behind him. "Will you please get—oh Laura!" His mother's hand went to her mouth in shock as her eyes teared and she immediately pulled poor, unsuspecting Laura towards her. "I'm so glad you're here."

Laura smiled and hugged her back, "I missed you guys."

"Trust me, we missed you too." Stormie shared a look with Ross who just blushed and looked away.

"Mom when's din—holy shit it's Laura." Ryland's mouth dropped open. He ran to her and tackled her causing her to stumble back into Ross. He at least prevented her from falling as Ryland hugged her. "So glad you're here!"

"Yeah, me too." Laura smiled as he released her.

"I wouldn't be too relieved just yet." Ross warned as Riker, Rocky and Rydel came into the kitchen.

They were all talking about something when Stormie cleared her throat and motioned with her head towards Ross. Rydel was the first to see her and let out a squeal running towards her.

"Oh my god, someone's going to kill me," Laura laughed as Rydel let go of her and Rocky and Riker hugged her calmly. She looked at Ross, "Or maybe not."

He just smiled and shook his head, pulling her into a one armed hug. She blushed and hugged him back.

"Aww, that's so cute." Rydel cooed and they broke apart. "You two are just adorable together. I'm glad everything's okay again."

"Thanks." They both said together as Stormie announced that it was time to eat. They all sat down at the table, Laura sitting in between Rocky and Riker, when Rocky suddenly stood up, shaking his head.

"No, no. You have to sit next to Ross," He said, moving over to the other side.

"Why?" She asked suspiciously as Ross took his older brother's place, also confused.

"So mom can take pictures and videos and drive us all nuts," Ryland whispered, leaning over to talk to her. "Though she's been pretty cool about it lately."

"Can you blame me? The only time we only have dinner as a family is when Ross has to film."

Ross nodded, Ryland rolling his eyes. Laura just shook her head and looked at Ross who had chosen that exact moment to look back at her, they both burst out laughing and then looked away just as Rydel set the bowl of salad down in front of them.

Rocky leaned over to get some, but his mother swatted his hand away. "Ow! Mom, what was that for?"

"The guest and the ladies get to chose first," She stated, and Rocky just glared at her.

"And this is why Rocky's still single," Ryland muttered under his breath.

"No you did not just say that," Laura laughed.

"How am I related to you two?" Ross asked, with a shake of his head. "And how do I know you?" He joked, only earning a smack in the arm in return.

Once the salad was passed around, Stormie looked at Laura, "So, tell us, what's new in your life?"

Laura shrugged, "Nothing really. Just school, I guess."

"You did nothing exciting at all the last six months?" Riker scoffed. "I don't believe that for two seconds."

"Well, I went to watch my sister film a few times. I learned some sign language too." Laura responded. "She, Katie and Sean taught me some simple phrases, the alphabet and how to spell my name." Her eyes lit up, "And I got a name sign! We also came up with one for _Austin and Ally_."

"Really?" Ross asked and she nodded. She put her hand up and spelled '_L-A-U-R-A_' and pointed to herself.

"That's how you spell my name. Yours is this," She spelled his name out and he looked impressed.

"Wow, that's awesome."

"Super dreamy." Rocky pretended to drool and Ross kicked him underneath the table. "I, uh, I mean that's pretty awesome, Laura." He gave Ross a look that said 'better?'. Ross nodded back.

"What's your name sign?" Rydel asked. Laura seemed super excited to show everyone that, because of the way she shifted in her seat. Ross knew that gesture all too well.

"Okay, so Sean got the feeling that I laugh a lot, don't know why though."

"Gee, I wonder." Ross responded sarcastically. He made a face and put his chin on his hand, then he gave her his 'wtf' look.

"Anyway, this is the sign for haha." She demonstrated it and then made an L shape with her hand. She moved it to the side and did the same thing. "That's my name sign."

"What about for _Austin and Ally_?" Ryland asked.

"Oh yeah! It's this," She made the A shape with her hand and then moved it in a circle three times. "Or you can just spell it out."

"Wow, Laura, that's amazing." Stormie commented.

"Yeah, I love sign language, to be honest. Vanessa's been teaching me some of it and I don't know, it's such a beautiful language. You don't say anything, but with your hands you can say so much and I just think it's amazingly beautiful."

Ross couldn't help but smile at her. Laura had always had a way with words and this time was no different.

"Well, I'm happy you found something new to learn." Stormie smiled at her and Laura smiled back.

"Yeah." She sat back for a moment and looked at the family in front of her. "I am too."

* * *

After dinner was over, Laura stayed a bit longer to watch Ross, Riker, Rocky and Ryland play an exciting game of Rock Band with Rydel. Ross was playing the drums during the third or fourth one (she had lost count) and she found that he was actually pretty good at it.

"Why don't they have a keyboard?" Laura wondered.

Rydel shrugged, "They might, but not one the one we have."

Laura nodded and started to clap and sing along with the song as the boys played.

"Oh! Dude! High score! Yeah! In your face!" Ross jumped up, his arms spread wide as he held the drumsticks in the air and then brought them back down to play air drums. He then sat down and acted as though nothing was wrong. "Alright so next song?"

That caused everyone to laugh and as they started the next one, Laura noticed his gaze shift towards her for a moment.

And she didn't miss the look in his eyes when he did.

* * *

"I guess, I should go home then, it's twelve and you and I, mister, have an early call time tomorrow morning." Laura leaned against the front door as she stared up at Ross and pointed at his chest with her finger.

He leaned against the door with her, his arm above her as he stared down at her. If someone were to walk in on them, they'd find them in a pretty compromising position, but he wasn't going to do anything and she wasn't, so they were both okay.

"So, guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Ross mumbled.

Laura nodded, "Guess so."

She opened the door behind her, but stopped when she remembered something and turned to face him.

"What's up?"

"Can I talk to you about something?"

He nodded.

She looked down at her feet and then looked back up at him, "I found these uhm papers in the kitchen in an envelope…" She began and his eyes went wide.

"Does it say you weren't born in California and you're being deported or something? Or are you gonna get abducted by aliens?"

"What? No! Of course not." She gave him a look, "You are so weird by the way."

"You love it."

"Sadly." She muttered, "Anyway, I opened it and it was like one paper and it had like a sentence on it and my mom's name, and then it was signed Damiano at the end of it."

"Who's Damiano?" Ross asked and she shrugged.

"I have no idea."

Ross tried to think, "Could it be a relative or something? One you've never met before?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so. I mean, I've never met my dad, but that was because my mom… told me he was… dead." She trailed off, before her eyes went wide. "You don't think—"

"It could be." Ross answered. "But I wouldn't jump to that conclusion just yet. Do you know your dad's name?" She shook her head.

"I never asked."

"Well," Ross sighed, "Maybe you should. Let's start there and then we'll figure out the rest."

"Yeah," She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "That's a great idea." He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close. "I'll let you know if I figure anything out."

Ross nodded, "Sounds good to me."

"Bye, see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Yeah," He muttered, "Don't remind me. Drive safe, text me when you get home."

Laura nodded, "I will. Thanks again for tonight." Ross smiled and nodded. With that, she opened the door and was in car in thirty seconds, on her way back home.

* * *

"Glad to see your home."

Laura walked into the kitchen, confused, since her mother was usually asleep at that time.

"Yeah, I was at Ross', remember?"

"I know, I didn't forget."

"Then why do you sound pissed off?"

"I'm not."

"Okay…" Laura gave her a look, "Anyway, I have to talk to you about something." Ellen nodded for her to continue. "What's my father's name?"

Her mother looked up from the catalog she was reading, her mouth set in a thin line.

"You never told me and I'm just curious to know what it is."

"I—I think it's time you go to bed."

"What?" Laura was taken aback. "Mom, it's just a simple question. I'm sure you remember it."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't. Go to bed, you have to be up in a few hours."

"Mom."

"Laura, bed. _Now_."

Laura just sighed and did as her mother asked. She stomped up the stairs and slammed the door, not caring if she woke up Vanessa or not. With a frustrated yell, she landed face first on her bed and punched the pillows. Then, remembering she had to text Ross, picked up her phone.

She sent him a quick text and responded a few moments later.

_Goodnight, sleep well :) see you bright and early. _

She smiled.

_Goodnight Superstar. See you tomorrow, xoxo_.

* * *

**I personally think _Superstar_ is a good nickname for her to give Ross. Ya know? And just so we're clear, I know Laura and Ross' families are both like perfect. But I feel with this added in to her storyline, it'll make a little sense as to why she is the way she is is in this. **

**So, review, let me know what you think! Even if it's just to say "apples taste amazing" or some shit. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Yeah, so this happened. **

**Laura's really out of character here, like _very_. Ross too, I suppose. Uhm, drama here again with them. But this is where the story picks up, you could say. **

**Also a revelation and a huge hint as to what happened between them, though it's anyone's guess (except for mine lol) at this point. **

**There's also a bit of a time jump.**

**I don't own anything because I'm not cool enough to. **

* * *

"What do you think is up there?" Laura's voice cut through the beautiful night's silence.

"The kings of the past," Ross joked.

Laura rolled her eyes and adjusted herself on the hood of Ross' car. "I'm being serious, you doof. What do you think is up there?"

"I don't know…" Ross trailed off. "All I see are stars and I think I see a plane over there too."

Laura let out a loud sigh.

Ross shook his head, "What do you want me to say? Oh I see The Big Dipper or whatever. I don't see it, so why would I say it?"

Laura sat up, leaning against her elbow she looked at him a moment before looking away. He turned towards her.

"You're still thinking about Damiano aren't you?"

Laura nodded. "I can't help it. My mother wont answer me, and I'm pretty sure Vanessa doesn't know either. Or if she does, she doesn't remember. And it's like something I'm dying to know, you know?" She sighed, "It's been a few days and I'm not any closer to finding out the truth."

Ross by then had sat up a bit so that he could see her better, mirroring her position. He went back to laying on his back a few moments later and just stared up at the night sky.

"Yeah, I get it, I guess."

"Do you really? Your family is like… perfect." Laura sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I wish I had that."

"What? My family isn't perfect. We fight daily, I mean, I'm surprised we all can stand each other at times, especially when I'm one two hours of sleep and I have a show to perform at the next night after filming for whole day. I snap at one of my brothers or my sister and then they yell back. Trust me, Laura, it's not as 'perfect' as you think it is."

"Well, at least you know who your father is," She mumbled and laid on her back again, looking up at the sky instead of him.

He wanted to say something, wanted to _so badly_, but he knew it wouldn't help him in the long run. So, though it pained him, he just kept his mouth shut.

"How do you do it?" Laura spoke quietly a moment later.

"How do I do what?"

"How do you film the show and then take a redeye to whatever state your band is playing in and perform, then come back and shoot some more? How do you stand only having like two hours of sleep a night?"

Ross shrugged, "Life of a rockstar I guess."

She could see in his eyes that it wasn't what he completely wanted. The movie he did was something he did more for experience than for actually wanting the part, she knew that because he'd told her about it around the time he left for filming. He had told her he wished he could stay there with her, but since he got the part, couldn't back out of it. It turned out to be for the best, she figured. He made a lot of friends he'd never forget. To her it was like going away to sleepaway camp for the first time. You don't really want to do it, but once it's over with, you're glad you did, and that's how she felt about Ross and _TBM. _

The show, on the other hand, she could see he was beginning to outgrow. Disney in general, she could see he was beginning to out grow. He was, after all a seventeen year old teenage boy. He didn't need to be affiliated with Disney for the rest of his life. Even when they went to Australia to promote the show, she could tell he just wasn't as into it as she was.

His band, she knew was what he really _wanted_. He worked hard to get them where they were now, and he'd basically do anything for it.

It pained her a little in her heart to know that he'd never do the same for _Austin and Ally_.

"Yeah," She responded a moment later, "makes sense."

It was silent in between them after that, not too uncomfortable but not too comfortable either.

"Hey," Ross turned to her and she faced him. "Want to do something totally crazy?"

She looked at him uncertainly, "Are you going to make me scream my head off again? Because my throat hurt like crazy the next day."

"No…" Ross trailed off, sliding down the hood, he came back a moment later with a bottle in his hands. She leaned in closer and read that it was whisky.

"You want me to drink?"

"No, I want you to stare at it." He responded sarcastically.

"How did you even get this? You're not even legal!"

"Really? Are you seriously going to freak out over this?" He asked and she shut her mouth. "Look, we're teenagers right? Technically high school age and sure we're on a tv show, but come on. If it wasn't Disney, if it was on HBO or some shit, we'd be drinking and partying like crazy."

"So, what's your point here?"

"My point," Ross gave her a look that said, he was going to get to it, but she cut him off before he could say a word. "is that we're allowed to experiment. If we really wanted to, I mean."

This was so unlike her, but truth be told, she really wanted to. She'd always wondered what it was like to experiment with alcohol, but there wasn't anyone she really trusted herself to experiment with.

Though, she figured, if she did experiment that night, at least it would be with Ross and not some random person she went to school with.

"We've experimented before together," She thought out loud. "This wouldn't be the first time."

"Thanks for that pleasant reminder, but we didn't drink," He muttered. "So, are you in?"

She thought it over again. She'd already had one life changing experience with him (among a few others), so what was one drink going to hurt? Plus, she did want to feel like a _normal _teenager, even if it was for one night with her costar.

"Yeah, I'm in." She told him, "Just out of curiosity though, where did you get this?"

He handed her the bottle and she opened it. She ignored the smell and brought it to her lips, tilting her head back, she let some of it fall, before swallowing it and handing it back to him. "Oh my god, that's stuff is strong."

"Yeah, it's whiskey." Ross answered, drinking some of it himself.

"You say that like you've done this before." Laura coughed, her eyes watering as she did.

"Well," Ross paused a moment, blinking his eyes as he let the liquid settle down in his body. "You'll be surprised to know, that I've never done this before."

She motioned for him to give it back to her and he did. She took another sip of it and then handed it back, feeling the effects of it already.

"Wow," She laughed a few minutes later, "I just took away your alcohol virginity." She started to giggle, falling over a bit as she did.

His eyes nearly bugged out when she said that. But soon a smile spread over his face and he burst out laughing.

"You just said virginity."

"Oh my god! You are such a four year old!" Laura rolled her eyes and then slid off the hood of the car. Ross adjusted himself so that he was just sitting on it. Laura put her hands on his knees and leaned in close. "Give me some more," She said and he just held it out to her. She tilted her head back and chugged some of it.

"Whoa! Laura! What are you doing? It's your first time! You're already lightweight enough as it is…slow down." He grabbed it from her and quickly put the cap back on it. "You're gonna give yourself a wicked hangover if you keep up like that."

"W-whatever." Laura muttered as she walked away from his car. She paused by a picnic table and turned to him. "We're not gonna get in trouble are we?"

He shook his head, "I've come here a few times by myself and I don't think anyone really knows about it. I discovered it soon after I moved out here with Riker, but I doubt he remembers it exists."

Laura nodded. She then got on top of the picnic table and spread her arms wide. Ross laughed as she started to spin around, joining her on the table, he put the bottle down and then grabbed her waist, so that she'd stop, causing her to fall into him. Her hair covered her face as she adjusted herself and then held his arm.

"That was amazing! I feel like I can do anything!"

Wow, Ross thought. That sounded kind of familiar to him. But then again, so did the position they were both in.

"Oh my god…" Laura's eyes widened. "We're—we're like Au…" She trailed off. "You know, that guy you are and the girl I am."

He could tell she was pretty drunk, he was feeling buzzed himself, but not to the point where he'd forget the character's name he portrayed.

"No you sound like Yoda." He laughed and she rolled her eyes.

She snapped her fingers, "Austin! You're Austin and I'm Ally!" She spun around one time before she turned back to face him, stumbling again.

"Whoa, Laura, careful…" He mumbled as he caught her and steadied her again.

"You know what?"

"Hmm?" Ross asked her absentmindedly.

"Austin loves Ally and Ally loves Austin." Laura grinned, "But it's a secret, you can't tell Trish or Dez!"

"I won't." He laughed and put his fingers to his lips, "I won't tell anyone!"

"Yay!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. His heart started to beat fast and he suddenly felt himself begin to feel the alcohol much more than he head a few minutes before. He put his arms around her waist and hugged her tighter, rocking her back and forth.

The song on his radio changed to an upbeat song and Laura's eyes lit up. She pulled away from him, her hand trailing down his arm until he caught it so that she wouldn't hurt herself as she used her other hand as a pretend microphone and started singing, "_I don't care, I love it. I don't care. You're on a differen't world, I'm in the milky way, you want me down on earth, but I am up in space. You're so damn hard to please, we gotta kill the switch. You're from the seventies but I'm a nineties bitch!_" She started to dance and Ross laughed as she jumped off the table (miraculously not killing herself) and started to dance all around them, clapping her hands, headbanging and singing her heart out.

"Come on Ross!" She said, motioning for him to join her. He jumped down and started to dance with her as she twirled around and around, stumbling into him. He caught her again and then let her stand up right by herself, dancing and doing way more complicated things than she could ever do in her life.

She clapped her hands to the beat as he danced and then the song was about to end. She jumped back in and they both sang the last few lines together, ending with a big, "_I don't care!" _yell to the empty world.

A new slower song came on and they laughed. Laura walked back to the car as Ross grabbed the bottle. He took one more drink from it, before putting it back where he'd gotten it, joining Laura a few moments later, back to where they were before on the hood.

"That was fun." Laura smiled up at the stars. "I actually feel… normal."

"Yeah," Ross grinned. "I do too."

"I get why you come here," She looked around with her eyes, though she couldn't see much, she still a lot. "You can feel like a normal teenager here, and that's… that's pretty fucking awesome."

"Laura, you just said fucking," Ross laughed.

"Oh my god, I did." Laura's eyes widened. "That's so not Ally-like!"

"Or _Laura-_like," Ross reminded her.

"Oh shit," She moaned, "I mean, damn! I mean… darn." Ross laughed harder, to the point he had almost fallen off the hood. "Stop laughing at me!" Laura yelled at him, but he shook his head. She couldn't help herself, as his laugh was pretty contagious and started to laugh with him.

At that moment, they both felt equal. Like, they weren't famous celebrities on a kid's show on the Disney Channel, but like normal, regular teenagers.

And it felt pretty damn good.

* * *

The sun in Ross' eyes woke him up first, as he sat up, on the hood of his car, he realized that they were still in 'the spot. Beside him, Laura was fast asleep on his chest, her hand clutching his shirt as she slept peacefully. He smiled down at her a moment, before he felt a vibration in his pocket and pulled his phone out to see he had many missed calls and texts from his brothers, sister, Ratliff, Raini, Calum and his parents.

Oh, shit.

"Laura, Laura!" He whispered loudly, gently shaking her to wake her up. "Wake up, we uh, we overslept!"

"What?" She blinked, her eyes still drowsy as she opened them fully to see Ross was in front of her, in front of clear blue sky. Her eyes opened wider and she sat up suddenly. "Oh my god, what the—what time is it?"

Ross checked his phone, "Eight."

"I am so late! Oh my god, my mom is going to murder me." Laura looked around for her phone, finding it in her jacket pocket a few moments later, she pulled it open and saw that she had a lot of missed calls from a lot of different people.

"I have the same problem," Ross spoke as she looked up at him a horrified look on his face. "Holy shit my head is pounding like crazy right now."

"You're not the only one," Laura answered as she pressed call and bringing the phone to her ear, dreading when the person on the other end would answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, mom…" Laura trailed off. "Uhm, I'm okay. Just so you know."

"Where the hell are you? Vanessa and I have been worried sick!"

"I know, I'm sorry. I was out with Ross and we lost track of time and fell asleep." She said and her mother breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"That's what I figured. But still, you should've checked in and called or something."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry." Laura closed her eyes, waiting for the big blow out moment, but it never came to her surprise.

"As long as you're alright."

"Yeah, I'm completely fine." Laura answered and looked at Ross, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Well, I'll pick you up in about an hour, if you want. I'm going to the store and I'll just come by on my way."

"Sure, that'd be great." Laura answered.

Her mother hung up then and Laura just stared at her phone in disbelief.

"So what happened? Your mom was totally cool?" Ross asked her and she nodded.

"That's so… not like her."

"Maybe because of the whole Damiano thing," Ross was thinking hard, she could see it. "She knows you're onto her and now she's being nice to you so it doesn't all blow up in her face… whatever that is."

"Wow, hung over and still you're as intuitive as ever." Laura mused.

"It's a gift." He answered. He got off the hood and helped her off. "Anyway, we should probably get back to my place. You know, before _my _mother has a heart attack."

Laura nodded, shivering slightly. "Sounds good to me."

Ross was about to get in the car, when he saw her visibly shiver again. "Hey, you cold?"

"I'm fine, it's just this leather jacket isn't really appropriate for the weather I guess."

Ross nodded and dipped his head in the car before coming back out. He threw a yellow zipped up hoodie at her. "Wear that for now."

"Wait, what about you?" Laura asked as she caught it.

"Don't worry about me, I'm okay."

"Are you okay to drive?"

"Aside from the major headache I have right now, I'm fine."

Laura by then had taken off her jacket and put his hoodie on. It was a bit big on her, but she loved the way it fit. She got in the seat and let out a groan, her eyes closed.

"Why did we do that?" She muttered. "It was so…"

"Stupid? Yeah I know."

"I think it was your suggestion." She said and Ross looked at her. "But you know, at least we got to be 'normal' for a while."

"Do you regret it?" He asked as he started to drive along a dirt road and then to the main road a few seconds later.

"No, I honestly would be, if it had been with anyone else." She answered truthfully. "Guess there's no one better to do it with than my costar who knows exactly what I'm going through."

"Guess you're right." He answered back.

She nodded and then lay back against the seat, his hoodie covering her head as she closed her eyes and just let the smell of Ross hit her nose. It was one of those things that was so _him_, it was hard to explain.

Before she knew it, they were at his house.

"Where is everyone?" Laura asked him and he shrugged.

"You'd think they'd be here to kick my ass or something, but I guess not." He parked the car and then they both got out. Laura carrying her bag and jacket with her. He unlocked the door and called out his mother, father and siblings' names, but no one answered. He turned to her, "Guess we're alone."

She nodded and yawned. "Mind if I take a short nap before my mother gets here?"

"Not at all," Ross answered and led the way to his bedroom where they both kicked off their shoes and fell onto his bed. Their exhaustion took over and they were both asleep within minutes.

* * *

"Ross! Dude! Wake up!"

Ross lifted his head up and noticed that he had his arms wrapped around Laura's waist, he was still asleep.

"What the, Ryland! Quiet! Laura's asleep!"

"Oh right." His little brother rolled his eyes, "Laura! Laura! Wake up!" He yelled and Laura's eyes opened. Ross gave him a look, one which Ryland ignored.

"What the—what's going on?" She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, "And please, try not to be so loud."

"Yeah, yeah. You two are wanted in the kitchen," He answered and with that, left the room.

Ross groaned, "What could anyone possibly want from us?"

Laura looked at him, "Like I know that, let's go find out."

Ross nodded and they both got out of his bed, walking down the stairs, they went into the kitchen and sat at the table, sleepily rubbing their eyes.

"Oh good to see you two are awake," Stormie spoke, her tone not too exactly a happy one. "Where have you been?"

"Asleep? In my room?" Ross looked at her like she was an alien.

"Explain this then," Rydel came out of now where and threw a magazine in front of them.

"What's this? And why would I care?" Ross asked as he picked it up, the headline on it, registering in his mind. "Oh shit."

"What?" Laura asked and read it a moment later. "Oh, well that's just perfect." She muttered.

"Yeah, explain to us why it says at the top, front page, _Austin and Ally stars getting drunk and cozy together? _And then you know, why there are pictures of you two drinking and going crazy to back up the story." Rocky spoke a moment later. He leaned in closer to them and sniffed the air. "Wait, you smell like alcohol."

"Shut up." Ross snapped at him. "Mind your own business."

"Why? Is this true? Were you two drinking?" Stormie asked as Rydel's eyes widened.

"Did you guys spend the night together?"

"Yeah and I don't know the last hour?" Ryland jumped in. "I caught them cuddling in bed fast asleep."

"Oh my god you guys are dating!" Rydel shook her head, her blonde ponytail moving back and forth. "That's your secret! That's why you two—"

"What? That wouldn't even make sense," Ross cut her off.

"And we don't have any secrets," Laura added.

"Tell us why you were drinking then, what made you think that was okay?" Stormie asked as Laura and Ross looked at each other.

"You wouldn't understand," Ross answered a few moments later. "To be honest, none of you would."

"What about me?" A new voice was added into the conversation and Laura looked up to see Vanessa was walking towards them, her mother not far behind.

"Have you seen—" Stormie began.

"The magazine?" Ellen held it up, glaring at her daughter. "Yeah, I've already seen it."

"Tell us, Ross. What wouldn't we understand?" Riker asked, looking right at him. "What do you two go through that we don't go through either?"

"Before you ask again, Vanessa, you wouldn't get it either," Laura rudely told her.

"Then what?" Vanessa responded, just as rudely.

"Why did you two get drunk?" Ellen demanded.

"If you say it's because you're both more famous than any of us, I might have to punch you in the face, Ross." Riker warned.

"You don't get it," Ross shook his head. "You're on a tv show where sex is a normal thing, so are you Vanessa and no disrespect or anything but your character is a bit racy, while our characters," He pointed in between Laura and himself, "Are wholesome, clean role models for kids. We're on the fucking Disney Channel. We're expected so much because we're not supposed to be dirty or do anything that would badly influence someone, well guess what? We just wanted to feel normal for a night and that's exactly what we did. _Austin and Ally _didn't exist and it was just Ross and Laura, two normal teenagers, experimenting with alcohol. That's it."

Laura nodded, "That's all it was. We're seventeen years old, in high school. Normally people our age party and do all sorts of crazy… stuff." She said once she saw the look her mother gave her. "It's normal, isn't it?"

"Yeah, for _other _people, but not for _Austin and Ally_," Riker responded.

"That's why you wouldn't get it, right there," Ross shook his head again and stood up. "Fuck it, you wont understand and you probably wont bother to get it, so I'm done here, okay?"

Stormie stepped in then, "Ross, is this what you want? Your fans to feel disappointed because their idol was caught drinking?"

"Look, we didn't even know there were paparazzi following us, so you cant put that on us, and second, what does it matter? You never asked me my opinion on anything, why start now?"

He was about to grab Laura's hand and leave with her when Vanessa asked a question that caused him to let it go almost instantly, much to Laura's disappointment.

"What would Max think if he found out about this, Laura?"

"Wait. Max?" Ross looked at her and Laura looked down, biting her lip. "Who's Max?"

Laura looked up at him and gave him an apologetic look, "Max… uhm, he's…" She trailed off and Ross gave her a look waiting for her to get on with it. "He's my boyfriend," She answered a moment later and anger flashed through Ross' eyes, but before he said anything she did. "You can't be mad at me."

"Why would I be?" He mumbled. "I'm not your boyfriend, we're not even together."

"Yeah, but we spend so much time together and I just didn't want you to think I was leading you on or something."

"And why would I think that, Laura?" He asked.

She stared at him, "You know why, Ross." She looked away.

"Whatever, have a good life with Max. Okay? I'll see you at work tomorrow." He was about to walk out, when Laura yelled something that surprised everyone in the room.

"You couldn't have expected me to wait around for you for six months! Okay? You were away and I moved on."

Ross turned to her and walked closer, "That's because _you _told me to stay away from you, remember? That was _your _choice, not mine."

Laura's lower lip trembled. "I didn't think you'd agree to it," She whispered.

"Like I said, it was what you wanted. And you know, you're right. I didn't expect you to wait for six months, because I sure as hell didn't either."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laura asked, her voice breaking.

"You of all people should know what that means," He responded, his tone cold. He looked up then and noticed they had an audience. "Oh, great." He muttered, looking away.

"Okay, what the hell was that about?" Rydel asked, "There's something going on, I knew it."

"Yeah…" Ross answered, "But it's not what you think, not anymore." And with that he walked out of the kitchen. They all heard a door slam a few moments later. Laura's lip was still trembling as she turned around and ran out of the front door.

Vanessa and Ellen came out a moment later with her things and Laura just sniffled, wiping away her tears. "Can we just go home please?"

"We're not done talking—"

"Please?" Laura whispered, giving her sister a pained look. Vanessa nodded and turned to her mother.

"Talk to her later, right now isn't a good time."

"Then when would be a good time?" Her mother pursed her lips and gave her a look.

"How about, when you tell me who my father is? Then we can talk." Laura snapped and with that, walked towards Ellen's car.

"Wait, did you just say something about our father?" Vanessa blinked and ran after her.

"Yeah, mom refuses to tell me his name, and I know nothing about him. It's like he doesn't even exist! And if he does, I'll never get to meet him because mom's a being a bitch about it."

"Don't you ever call me that word ever again."

"Tell me who my father is."

"No." Ellen answered a moment later, "no, it's not something—"

"He's my _father._ He helped create me! What the hell mom?"

"You know what?" Vanessa spoke up, "Laura, you're obviously very emotional and after the night and morning you've had, I don't blame you so why don't we just go home, you get some rest and then we'll talk about this later?"

Laura's mouth was set in a thin line. "Fine, whatever." And with that, she got in the car, slamming the door hard behind her.

* * *

"You like Laura, don't you?"

"Go away." Ross groaned as he opened one eye to see Rydel was standing in the entrance to his room.

"No, admit it, you have feelings for her. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten so pissed off when she mentioned she had a boyfriend."

"Shows what you know, I could care less about that."

"Oh really?"

Ross nodded.

"I don't believe you."

"I don't have feelings for her… okay? She's… we're just friends."

Rydel agreed, "Yeah, friends who spend a lot time together."

"We're the stars of a tv show!" Ross argued.

"Then what was all the beef with her at the Teen Choice Awards? What was that about?" Ross didn't say anything so she continued, "Exactly. You two had an issue, you left for six months, she apparently tells you to stay away from her until you get back to film the show and then you make up by doing whatever it was you did, and then she tells you this and you get upset with her."

"I'm done talking about this." Ross rolled over on his side and stared hard at the wall.

"I'm not going to be done with this until you give me an answer."

"Then good luck getting one, because I'm not saying anything."

"Ross," Rydel said quietly. "What happened to you two?"

It took a moment, but Ross responded back. And what he said, Rydel wasn't expecting at all.

"I fucked up everything."

* * *

**Let me know what you thought. If you didn't like it, I'm sorry, but it's for the storyline. But I'm always open to any suggestions you might have so don't be shy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yup, here's the next one with a sweet little surprise thrown in. **

**Also, I know that their kiss on the show happens before the third season starts, but for the sake of story they came back to refilm it because the writers and directors thought of another idea and went with it. **

* * *

"Roy."

Laura looked up from the piano confused, to see her sister was standing above her. She threw a manila envelope on top of the piano keys and then put her hands on her side, staring down at her.

"What?"

"Roy, that's our dad's name." Vanessa answered, sitting down beside her. Laura scooted over a bit and picked up the manila envelope, still very confused.

"I don't understand…" She trailed off.

"Open it," Vanessa nodded in the direction of the envelope.

Laura did as she said and pulled out her birth certificate, behind it, was Vanessa's.

She looked at Vanessa's first and saw that under the father's name, it said 'Roy Marano.' She then pulled out her own, and on it, she saw the name, 'Damiano' but for some strange reason, there wasn't a last name.

"Wait, no." Laura looked at her, "Roy isn't my father's name. Damiano is," Laura was starting to get really confused. "If the letter I saw is from my father… then why would mom keep it from me?"

Vanessa shrugged, "Maybe she didn't want you to know."

"But she told me—us, he was dead."

"Maybe Roy is," Vanessa suggested.

Laura shook her head, "No, that can't be true." She thought to herself for a few moments, when suddenly she grabbed her sister's hand. "Vanessa, don't we have an uncle Roy?"

"Holy shit, you're right." Vanessa pulled out the papers some more, and then her eyes read over a few things, before she looked at Laura. "It says here that Roy is indeed our uncle. Or actually, your uncle."

"Wait, what?"

"Okay, think of it this way. Mom is obviously both of our mothers, but she apparently had us with two different men." Vanessa continued to read and Laura leaned over her shoulder. "Laura…" She trailed off and Laura blinked at her. "Your dad is Damiano and my dad is Roy, and both of them…" She took a deep breath before continuing. "Are brothers."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us?" Laura demanded, storming into her mother's office, Vanessa right behind her. "Why didn't you tell us we had different dads? And more importantly why did you lie to us?"

Ellen looked up, shocked, "Wait I don't even…" Vanessa threw the manila folder on her desk.

"So, technically we're sisters and cousins?" Laura asked her a moment later. "That's so sick!"

"Wait, hold on you two, where did you find this information?"

Vanessa shrugged, "I was looking for something in the kitchen and found that. You really shouldn't have left it out like that."

"Okay, you just need to relax," Ellen told both of her daughters. "And then let me explain."

"No." Laura spoke defiantly and it surprised Vanessa. "I have to go to work, I don't want to talk to you right now." With that, she stormed out of the room. Vanessa followed her, barely catching her sister's wrist.

"Laura, stop."

"No, just let me go!" She yelled at her, Vanessa saw tears in her eyes. "I don't want to talk to anybody right now. I just want to go to work, pretend I have to be Ally all day and then I just want to be alone!"

"You can't be alone right now." Vanessa shook her head.

"Well, I'm gonna have to be," Laura's voice was shaking. "Ross hates me right now and I don't really feel like talking to Max, so I just want to be alone."

Vanessa gave her a sad smile, "You want to talk to Ross about this, don't you?"

Laura stayed silent.

"You miss him, I get it. He's mad at you, I also get that, but you're going to see him at work today, so why don't you just talk to him? He's your best friend, he'll understand."

"No he won't." Laura mumbled. She looked at the ground a moment, before looking around again. "I have to go, I'll see you… later."

"Wait, Laur—"

The door slammed in her face before Vanessa could say another word.

* * *

Ross sat in his dressing room, absentmindedly strumming the guitar as he thought about everything that happened with him and Laura the day before. Sure, he'd been a jerk, but it was almost like she'd been hiding the secret from him and it truth had come out then.

He was pissed off, pissed off that she kept the fact that she'd had a boyfriend from him. And he wasn't willing to listen to anything she had to say otherwise.

He continued to silently strum and a song started to come out of it.

After a while, he realized it was one of his and Laura's favorites.

The door opened then and he looked up to see a stage manager was motioning for him to leave, "You're needed on set."

Ross nodded and got up. Gently placing the guitar down beside him, he followed after him and onto the set of the practice room where he saw Laura sitting at the piano, playing a tune.

He didn't bother to acknowledge her as he sat on a chair across the room.

"Okay, guys, you two are—" The director looked at them. "Across the room from each other." He sighed, rubbing his temples, "Why are you two on the other side of the room?"

"Ask her," Ross mumbled.

Laura's head snapped up and she gave him a look of hurt.

"You're being so immature," She whispered back.

He shrugged, "Whatever."

"You know what? I'm not going to do this. Let's just shoot the scene, act like we like each other and then go about our day hating each other again."

"Sounds good to me," Ross responded, emotionlessly.

"Perfect." Laura responded.

"Fine, you two work out your issues later, for now, you're Austin and Ally not Ross and Laura, understand?"

They both nodded.

"Good, I hope you guys know your lines. Alright quiet on set!" The director called out. "And action!"

Ross by then had gotten up and stood just outside the door way. He listened to Laura play the piano for a few seconds and then walked in. She lifted her head up and he looked back at her.

The script just said for him to walk inside the practice room and then go straight to the piano. He did just that, sitting down beside her.

"So that was kind of… crazy." He said, not making eye contact with her.

She nodded, "Totally crazy. Funny how Tilly thinks we're into each other just because we were all close and performing together and… I don't know." She ran her fingers through her hair and looked away. She took a deep breath and got up, walking to the other side of the room, "I also can't believe I got asked to go on my own tour." She looked up at Ross who gave her an equally sad look.

"Yeah, it's gonna be so weird without you there," He sighed. "You know I can't do this without you, right Ally?"

"I know." Laura bit her lip and then sat down beside him again, taking her hands in his. "But this could help my career too."

"I know," Ross whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "That's why I can't stop you from doing this. You have to go, I want you to go and I want you to be happy and live out your dreams."

"That's the thing Austin. I can't live my dreams without you there with me." She put her hand on his cheek and they realized then just how closer they actually were. Though it was what the writers had written for their characters. Despite being mad at each other, they still had a job to do.

She rubbed his cheek with her thumb and then she took a deep breath. He looked right at her.

"You have to go." He said softly, his voice pained as he spoke. "I can't hold you back anymore."

She shook her head, "No, you're not the one holding me back, you never were." She suddenly felt the emotion of the scene and her eyes watered. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, taking a deep breath. "It was always me, holding myself back."

Ross' eyes filled with tears too, much to her surprise. She didn't remember the script saying that Austin had to cry.

He put his hand on top of hers that was on his cheek and brought it down, intertwining their fingers as he did.

"You're an amazing songwriter, musician and singer, Ally." Ross began, "Your dancing needs a little work though." Laura laughed and he smiled, "But that's okay, because it's so you. You know? And I don't want you to hide that anymore. You have to show the world who you are, Ally."

She closed her eyes and nodded, agreeing. "I'm so scared though."

"I saw the potential in you when we started and I still see it now." Ross looked right at her and it was like they were saying this to each other. "Go, live out your dreams and be yourself."

She nodded and then they stared at each other for a few seconds before Ross leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back, her mouth moving against his for a moment in the most gentle and sweetest kiss she'd ever had, before breaking apart and leaning their foreheads against each other's. Her hands by then were on his cheeks and she held him there for a few moments, before the director yelled out "cut!" they broke apart.

"That was perfect," He said and everyone else nodded. "I can't even describe how perfect that was."

Ross and Laura looked at each other a moment, before Laura got up and walked off the set.

Ross just stayed where he was and watched her as she wiped away her tears. He looked down at the piano as they started to set up for the next scene.

He was still mad, but the emotion of the last few months, the scene and the day before got to him. Before he knew it his hands had covered his face and he was leaning against the piano.

"Ross? Are you alright?"

He heard Calum's voice and slowly shook his head.

"No," He mumbled. "I'm not alright. Not even close."

* * *

Laura ran into her dressing room and slammed the door. Her hands went to her hair and she pulled on the strands, tears streaming down her face. Through her blurry vision she saw a framed picture of her and her mother and immediately picked it up, throwing it across the room.

"Whoa! Whoa! Stop!" She heard as she continued to throw things off her desk and then across the room again. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and immediately she calmed down. To her surprise, it was Ross.

She continued to cry against his chest as he held her, holding her close. She clutched his shirt and pulled him closer.

"It's okay, Laura. Whatever it is, it's fine."

She shook her head and cried harder, running her make-up and ruining his shirt, but she didn't even care.

She doubted at that moment that he cared either.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm so sorry." She whimpered against him and he just held her, his chin on her shoulder as she continued to cry.

He didn't say anything to her for a few moments and then she was slowly starting to stop crying.

After she had started sniffling, she looked up at him and moved slightly away, though he kept his arms around her.

"Why are you comforting me? I thought you were mad at me."

"Look, that doesn't matter right now." He softly answered. "I was walking to my dressing room and heard a loud bang in here, I thought you had seriously hurt yourself and walked in here to see you throwing things. What's wrong Laura?"

"I…" She trailed off, looking at him. "I can't tell you."

"Laura, you can tell me anything." Ross gently told her, brushing a strand of her hair away from her face.

"I.." She looked up at him, her mouth moving, but unable to say anything. She looked away for a moment and then leaned her head against his chest, "I'm so messed up," She whispered.

His heart dropped. "Why do you say that?"

"Because… my mom, she—she told me that, well actually, she didn't, Vanessa did. But anyway, Vanessa found an envelope with our birth certificates in them and we don't have the same dad, we have different dads and what's worse, they were brothers so we're also cousins and… it's so messed up. I hate everything and I just wish that—" She was rambling, so he stopped her from going further by slightly pinching her waist. She stopped and looked up at him.

"Your mom, she's _insane_ for keeping this from you."

"I know."

"Do you uhm, want to meet him?" Laura nodded her head. "Out of curiosity, why did she keep this from you, do you think?"

Laura thought for a moment, then it hit her. "So that it wouldn't make her look bad, she hates that."

"Did she tell you why?"

Laura shook her head, "I stormed out of the house before she could explain herself."

Ross nodded. "Maybe you should let her then," He advised wisely.

"I…I don't want to, I don't want to hear anything she has to say." Laura responded stubbornly.

"She's your mom, whether or not you like it, she's got all the answers." He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She relaxed when he did that, and couldn't deny she loved the feeling. "Does this mean you found out your dad's name?"

Laura nodded, "It's Damiano, I'm assuming his last name is Marano since his brother Roy's is and his last name is Marano."

"Okay." Ross answered. "That's great."

It was silent in between them for a few moments, before Laura looked up at him.

"Will you help me find him?" She whispered.

Ross nodded, "I'll do anything you want me to."

"I just want you to be there, you know? If I were to find him. I wouldn't want anyone else, not even Max," She told him when he gave her a look, almost as if he was going to ask her.

He silently nodded and it was silent again. Ross then hugged her out of nowhere, holding her close, he rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

"I don't want to be mad at you anymore, Laura, and I don't want you to be mad at me. I hate when we fight like this."

Laura felt tears come to her eyes, "I hate it too." She whispered.

"Then can we stop?"

He pulled away then and looked into her eyes, "I cant do this anymore. Fight with you I mean."

"I…" Laura began, but stopped herself. She hadn't really forgiven him for his mistake so long ago, it had hurt her so badly. "I'm sorry, but I can't forgive you. Not yet."

"I'm not asking for that, I'm asking for us to quit having so much animosity towards each other. Like with me yesterday, I was a jerk, I get that, but you should've told me about Max. I didn't really appreciate finding out about him during a confrontation with our families."

"I know, I'm sorry." Laura looked down at her hands, before looking back up again. "I…I don't know what you want me to say or what will make this all better." She closed her eyes. "All I know is that we uhm…we need to cool it I guess."

"Cool it?"

She nodded. "Cool what?"

"I don't want to talk about this right now." She tried to move past him, but he grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him again. Though, she noticed, he didn't let go.

"I'm not about to attack you after your breakdown, but please explain to me what you mean by that."

She sighed and gave him a sad look, "That scene we just shot, it had more emotion and feelings into it than there needed to be."

"Meaning what? Arent Austin and Ally supposed to be upset that Ally's leaving on a tour?"

"You know why. Think about it, doesn't that whole thing seem familiar?"

He shook his head. "I have no clue what you're talking about."

"You left for tour. We had a pretty emotional goodbye and we…" She trailed off as his eyes started to light up in recognition. "Well, you finish that." She wiped a tear that had fallen on her cheek away.

"The kiss," Ross whispered, "That kiss…"

Laura nodded.

He knew why she was mad at him, but he knew the kiss had nothing to do with it, so why she was bringing it up was kind of confusing him.

"That kiss today." Ross clarified, "That brought up a lot of shit."

"Yeah, pretty sure there wasn't supposed to be a kiss until a few scenes later."

"It wasn't just you, Laura. It was me too."

She just stared at him.

"I just got caught up in the moment—scene." He stepped away from her, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you… again."

"It wasn't just you." She whispered.

He nodded. "So, when you can figure out where your dad is, let me know. I'll go with you, but uhm, right now I actually have to…" He trailed off, just as her phone started to ring.

He watched her walk across the room to pick it up and then turn towards him.

"It's Max."

She didn't miss the flash of hurt in his eyes when she said his name.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go, I'll… see you, yeah bye." Ross quickly let and Laura slowly sat on the couch. Her eyes filled with tears and she wanted to cry all over again, but she bit her lip to hold it back. Flipping open her phone she answered with a curt, "Hello."

* * *

He had been in his dressing room all of about five minutes, when a stage manager stuck his head inside.

"You're wanted in Kevin's office."

He nodded and walked straight there. He saw Laura sitting down in a chair and looked at her confused. She didn't look back at him.

"Hey, Ross. Please, have a seat." He nodded and Kevin closed the door. Ross swallowed hard. Kevin only closed the door when whatever it was they needed to discuss was a serious matter. "Okay, you two…" He rubbed his temples. "We gotta talk."

"What did we do?" Laura asked.

"For one, you two got drunk. What were you thinking? It was reckless and unacceptable."

Ross wanted to fight back, but he chose to wisely keep his mouth shut.

"And another, you two have been at it since we've gotten back. What's going on? Talk to me. I'd like to know why you two are always out for blood with each other." He leaned back and looked at the two teenagers in front of him.

"It's complicated." Laura started to say. "We…it's just complicated."

"How complicated can it be?" He asked. "You two are our stars. You're both Austin and Ally. I can't have you fighting all the time and then running off set because one or the other has upset you. So, my suggestion is you two work it out."

"We always do," Ross began, as Laura lifted her head slowly to look at him. "But personal issues tend to get in the way and then we start all over again. We're working on it though, believe me."

Kevin nodded. "Okay, but one more incident like what happened today and I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop production until you two settle your differences."

Laura nodded and Ross just gave him a nod.

"Now, we also need to discuss this drinking issue. Explain to me why you felt it was necessary to get drunk."

"It wasn't really planned… we really just for one night wanted to feel normal. Like regular teenagers in a regular school in a regular world." Laura explained.

"You two chose this, correct? You wanted to be in the show? You wanted this lifestyle?" They both nodded. "Then you can't have a chance to be normal, I'm sorry. Unless it's in the privacy of our own homes, you both don't get that luxury. You said to both your parents, I assume, when you were children that you wanted to be in the business. Not to sound harsh, but this is it. You make mistakes like that again, you'll be out of it before you blink. You two are rolemodels to young children all over the world, what will they think now that they have seen their idol drunk and acting crazy?"

"Yeah," Ross agreed, "I understand."

"Me too." Laura said quietly, she exchanged a look with Ross and was happy to see that they both agreed it was being made a bigger deal than it needed to be.

"Okay, so no more incidents like that, correct?" Kevin looked them both in the eye.

"I promise." Laura said.

"I promise too." Ross replied.

"Fantastic. Now, before you go, we also have something else to talk about."

"Other than those two things previously mentioned, we really haven't done anything else that would get us in trouble." Ross looked confused.

"No, no. This is more of you two going to see your fans. I have scheduled you two to go visit sick children at the hospital about thirty minutes from here next week. And then in a couple weeks, there will be a meet and greet with you two in New York."

They both nodded.

"I don't know if you'll be required to go with a parent, but since you're both underage still, I assume you will be."

"Okay." Laura answered for them both.

"I'll give you more information on both events when it comes closer to when they happen, agreed?"

They nodded.

"Very well. Now, please, settle your differences and stay out of trouble."

"We'll try." Ross said carefully. "No promises on that."

Kevin sighed, "Alright, I'll be letting Keith know we had this meeting. See you both soon for the next scene."

With that, they both walked out of his office, once the door closed, Laura looked at Ross.

"Wow." She said.

He nodded, "Yeah."

"We're… we're getting into more shit than we used to."

Ross couldn't help but smile. "You just said shit, how very un Laura-like."

She playfully shoved him. "Shut up!" She blushed as soon as her hand hit his chest and she looked at him again.

And it was awkward again.

Ross just gave her a nod and started to back away. To his surprise, she took his hand and pulled him back towards her, giving him a hug.

"I just want you to know," She said quietly, "That no matter what happens, you'll always be my best friend."

He pulled away and looked at her, "Really?"

She nodded, "No matter how pissed off we get and fight, you will always, always be my best friend. I can't…" She bit her lip, her eyes darting away for a moment before she settled on him again. "I can't lose you."

He didn't say anything for a few moments, hugging her tighter.

"I can't lose you either," He whispered into her hair.

She smiled and after a few moments, they broke apart.

"Hey," Ross nudged his head towards the door. "You wanna get out of here?"

"But we have to be on set in like fifteen minutes."

He shrugged, "So?"

"So?" Laura raised an eyebrow.

He grinned, "Let's have an adventure."

"But won't we get fired?"

He scoffed, "We're Austin and Ally. They can't fire us."

"That doesn't mean we're exactly untouchable." She reminded him.

"Well, Kevin wanted us to work out our differences, so let's go work out our differences."

She stayed in her spot, still unsure. Though she thought of what her mother would think and realized that she really didn't give a shit.

"Come on, it'll be a…" He trailed off trying to think of a name. "A_ Raura_ adventure," He grinned.

She smiled back, "I like the sound of that." He held out his hand and she giggled, taking it as he began to run off and she followed him to god knows where.

* * *

"Where are Ross and Laura?" The director demanded as the stage manager ran up to him.

"I've looked everywhere for them, I have no idea."

Calum and Raini exchanged a look.

"Well, look for them! We have scenes to shoot!"

The stage manager nodded and quickly ran off to find the lead stars.

Raini quickly grabbed her phone and called Laura's number while Calum tried Ross'.

"Did he answer?"

Calum shook his head no.

Raini sighed, calling again she walked closer to the dressing rooms where she heard a shrill ringing noise. Opening the room, she saw Laura's phone sitting on the desk.

"Figures," She sighed.

Calum walked up to her, "Ross left his phone here."

Raini nodded, "So did Laura apparently." She pointed ahead. "Where the hell did they go?"

Calum shrugged, "I don't know, but we have to figure it out and soon before Kevin goes ballistic."

Raini nodded, letting out another sigh.

"Let's get to it then."

* * *

**I do realize that you could probably get fired for leaving set when you're not supposed to, but let's pretend that can't happen here. Part of the story line, folks. **

**And you'll notice Laura's rebelling a bit... so yeah. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I figured they couldn't be into much trouble for doing something _good _for once, so yeah. **

**Enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reading/reviewing! You rock! :]**

* * *

Laura licked her ice cream, some of it landing on her shirt as Ross shook his head laughing.

"You got some of it on you," He said quietly, reaching over with his napkin he wiped it off.

She smiled, "Maybe I did that on purpose."

"Oh," He raised an eyebrow, "did you now?"

She nodded and licked her ice cream again, sighing happily.

"I know we're going to get into so much trouble for this, but this was a great idea."

"Yeah, I guess we kinda needed it." Ross shrugged, "Everyone's always telling us what to do and how to act. Like sure, we wanted this job, but it's not like… I don't know how to explain it."

"I get it." Laura nodded, staring at him for a few moments. "It feels too forced."

He snapped his fingers in her direction. "Exactly."

She silently looked at her ice cream and then at her costar. She was happy she had in a sense "run away" with him. It was like they were two star crossed lovers (though last she checked they weren't) and Ross was her Romeo.

He'd even said to her once that she was his Juliet and she had blushed and told him he was her Romeo. It was so cheesy and so romantic at the same time. But also, it was just so… _them_.

She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"So, Romeo, where are we off to next?"

"I don't know," He answered, "where do you want to go?"

"Well, we can't go home." She stated and he nodded. "We also can't go back to the studio, well I mean we could, but I'm not ready for the ass beating that awaits us there."

He laughed.

"So, I don't know. Why don't we go surprise visit some sick kids?"

He smiled, "That's a great idea."

* * *

"Hello, how can I help—" The woman lifted her head from the computer and looked up to see Ross and Laura were in front of her. "I—hi. What can I do for you?"

Ross smiled, "Are we able to visit some kids?" He asked.

The woman nodded, "Of course, please wait just one second."

They nodded and he leaned against the counter top as Laura wandered off to go look at pictures. She saw all different ones of sick kids hugging doctors, their families and looking sad. Tears came to her eyes, but she blinked them away.

"Laura." Ross gently called her name and she turned around.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Peterson." He shook both their hands. "It's very nice to see you. I spoke with Kevin earlier, he said you'd be visiting next week."

"Yeah, but we wanted to come a bit early." Ross told him. "You know, surprise the kids."

Dr. Peterson smiled, "well, they'd be happy to see you. After you wash your hands and completely sterilize yourselves, I'll take you to the playroom."

They nodded and did as the doctor said. After a few moments they were standing in front of a door, inside Laura could see a bunch kids playing and some of them were coloring and drawing things out. Doctor Peterson slowly opened the door and they were led inside.

"Kids? We have a couple of visitors who came by early to surprise you."

"Who?" A little girl asked and looked up, her blue eyes lighting up once she saw them. "Austin and Ally!" She squealed and immediately ran as fast as she could towards them, hugging them tight as they both bent down and hugged her back. She grinned and Ross noticed she was missing a few teeth. "Are you really here?"

Laura bent down, "Yes, sweetie. It's real."

She hugged her tight and Laura hugged her back.

"I'm so happy you came!" She said quietly, bouncing a bit.

Laura hugged her tighter, but not too tight. Then they let go.

"What's your name?" Laura asked her.

"I'm Courtney." She answered, "I'm six years old."

She held up three fingers on each hand.

"Wow, you're a big girl." Laura told her and she nodded.

"That's what my mamma tells me." She beamed.

Ross bent down to her level too. "Will you introduce us to your friends?"

Courtney nodded excitedly. She grabbed both their hands and pulled them with her further into the playroom.

"Guys! Look, it's Austin and Ally." She bounced excitedly. "They're here to play with us!"

"Hi!" A boy with no front teeth waved.

Ross went over to him, "What's your name?"

"Tyler."

Ross held his hand up, "Give me a five, Tyler."

Tyler nodded and hit his hand. "I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Are you still afraid of umbrellas?"

Ross smiled and turned to see that Laura was smiling from where she was sitting with two little girls and Courtney, coloring.

"Not anymore," He said a moment later, "It was pretty scary, but now I'm okay."

Tyler nodded. "Mom said me being sick is scary, but she told me that if you can face umbrellas I can face me being sick."

Ross' heart broke after hearing that. "Yeah, buddy." He whispered, "I guess you can."

"You're my hero! I know I can win." Tyler grinned, "Just like you won with the umbrellas."

Ross couldn't help himself, he hugged the little boy.

"You know what? You're my hero." He told him honestly.

"Really?" Tyler's eyes lit up.

Ross smiled, "Really."

A nurse came then and took Tyler's hand. "Come on Tyler, it's time for you to take your medication, okay?"

Tyler nodded sadly. "It was nice talking to you."

Ross nodded, "You too, buddy."

With that, the nurse let him away. He stood up then and was about to say something to Laura when a nurse came up to him. She had tears in her eyes.

"You just made a sick child's whole year," She tearfully told him and gave him a hug. She then stepped back and Ross noticed for the first time that there was a woman beside her. "This is Tyler's mother, Georgia." She introduced and Ross gave her a hug.

"Nice to meet you," He said.

"My son…he loves you." She told him looking up at him. "All he ever talked about was wanting to meet you because you're his hero. It was his dream to meet you and tell you that."

Ross smiled, "well, I'm glad I could make his dream come true."

Georgia nodded, "The doctors, they don't know how much time he has left, but he's such a positive little boy. He says he can beat this, just like your character did with the umbrellas. He really believes in that."

"Don't let him stop," Ross' voice broke as he swallowed a lump. "Keep letting him believe that. He needs to stay happy and positive."

Georgia nodded, "Thank you again. I really appreciate it."

He brought her into another big bear hug, "My pleasure. Tell Tyler I said to always remember to stay positive and to never let anything get him down. Nothing. Because life's fun and life's exciting and he deserves to be the happiest he can be." As Ross spoke, he realized that some what he was saying was true, not only for himself, but for his very beautiful and talented costar.

Georgia nodded and with that, she left with the nurse to go back to Tyler.

Ross stood by himself for a few moments, collecting himself, when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Laura was there.

"I heard, everything you said," Her voice cracked with emotion and he saw tears in her eyes. "You're—you're right."

He nodded, "But that was for Tyler. You and I, we've got different sh—I mean things going on."

"Look around you, Ross. These kids don't really know if they'll ever see the outside again," She whispered. "And yet, they're still happy. They're still strong. They're motivated to be the best they can be under very not normal circumstances."

"You're right," Ross nodded. "I can't let everything going on affect me so much, if these kids might not even have a chance to live out their dreams."

"Exactly." Laura smiled.

He took her hand then and intertwined their fingers. "Ready to go make some kids' whole year?"

Laura smiled, "With you there by my side, I'll do anything."

He couldn't help himself and smiled back.

* * *

Ross tapped his steering wheel somewhat nervously as he stared ahead at his house.

"You know, we promised we'd stay out of trouble," Laura was staying, "Does this count?"

He shook his head, "Kevin said to work out our differences and we did."

"But it wasn't like we went off to go make out or whatever, we actually did something… meaningful."

Ross nodded. "Exactly."

"We made kids really happy today, Ross." She turned to him, a smile on her face. "Our parents can't be pissed off about that, right?"

"I sure hope not." He answered, "But who knows, let them have their tantrum and then once they calm down, we can uh… we can explain ourselves."

Laura nodded, "Good plan." She looked up and noticed there was an extra few cars there. "Uh…"

"Yeah, I know." Ross sighed, shutting off his car as Laura looked at him, looking like she wanted so badly to tell him something.

"Ross, there's something I want to—" She was cut off, ready to tell him, but there was a knock on her window. She turned, her eyes wide and saw that it was just Rydel.

"Holy shit, Rydel! You scared us!" Ross rolled down the window.

"You two better get inside," She advised. "It's not pretty now and I guarantee it wont be any prettier if you two just stay out here and talk all night."

Ross sighed as Laura nodded.

"What is with you two anyway? You've been getting into all sorts of trouble lately. It's so unlike you."

"We've changed, I guess." Ross mumbled as he opened the door and got out, walking to the other side to meet Laura. He shut the door once she was beside Rydel on the sidewalk and together all three of them walked up to the front door.

It was silent as they opened the door.

"Ross? Laura? Living room!" He heard his father call and made a face.

"Just stay calm okay?" Rydel whispered, "Take a deep breath before you go in there. You'll be fine."

He gave her a small smile and then grabbed Laura's hand, leading her to the living room where they saw her mother and his parents were sitting on a couch, Kevin (to their surprise) and Calum and Raini were there as well. None of them looked happy at all.

He still held her hand, squeezing it as they just stood there.

"Well?" Stormie asked, "Care to explain? Where have you two been all day?"

"We—" Laura began, but her mother cut her off.

"Why on earth would you two just leave? What the hell were you thinking?"

"We were thinking that Kevin told us to go work our shit out, so we did." Ross answered.

"I didn't mean in the middle of a production day!" Kevin threw his hands up. "Do you two have any idea at all the trouble you caused? And I thought we talked about this earlier, staying out of trouble?"

"We didn't do anything reckless or stupid." Ross argued.

"Oh yeah, then tell us, what were you doing?" Ellen demanded.

By then Laura had had enough of her mother's attitude. "We went to go surprise visit sick children."

"That's bullshit." Ellen rolled her eyes.

"Really? Call the hospital. They'll tell you we were there," Laura narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, fine. You were at the hospital today." Stormie decided to step in. "But really, what possessed you two to run away like that?"

"You really wanna know?" Ross asked and his mother nodded. "We were feeling pressured, you know, being told what to do and how to act and yeah I admit that our actions the other night were slightly out of line, but think about it for a sec. We're two teenagers, we never really had much a teenage life. We just… I don't know, wanted to feel like we weren't so tied down all the time."

"Ross, you asked us for this life," Mark spoke up. "You told us this is what you wanted to do."

"It is, it a hundred percent is. But sometimes, I just want to feel… normal."

"I get it man," Calum spoke. "I haven't been in this business that long, but sometimes I wish I could just you know, wind it down and just be me for a few hours."

Raini nodded, "I do too. But…" She trailed off a moment, locking eyes with Laura, "sometimes it's not so easy."

"Okay, we'll talk about this again first thing on Monday morning," Kevin sighed, "I'm just glad to see you two are alright. You had us worried sick."

Ross and Laura nodded silently. He looked at them and smiled, before turning to everyone else.

"I'll let myself out, goodnight guys."

"Yeah, we should get going too." Raini gestured in between Calum and herself. She hugged them both goodbye, followed by Calum.

"Glad to see you guys are better," He squeezed their shoulders and with that was with Raini out the door.

Now it was just Ross and Laura against their parents. Laura suddenly wished Raini and Calum had taken her with them.

Stormie sighed, "What are we going to do with you two? For the past few weeks it been nonstop trouble."

"I'm sorry." Ross answered, "Really I am. I didn't mean to…" He trailed off. "It's hard to explain."

"Okay, Ross, Laura, go to Ross' room. Stormie and I would like to have a talk with Ellen." Mark sighed and the teenagers nodded. They turned around to leave, which was when Laura noticed she had never let go of Ross' hand. She smiled and he led her with him to his bedroom. They shut the door and Ross fell on his bed, bringing Laura down with him who was laughing as she fell on top of him.

"Why are we laughing right now?" Ross asked, sitting up a bit so that Laura could look right at him.

She shrugged, "Careful. It might be considered illegal now," She teased and he rolled his eyes, laying back down again. "Why do we keep getting into trouble?" She asked a few seconds later.

"We're trouble makers," He responded, "It's what we do."

"I like that you know…" She smiled. "If there was anyone I'd want to cause trouble with, it'd definitely be you."

"You are too sweet."

He then reached over and started to tickle her. She moved against him, her body moving against his "spot" as he sat up to tickle her more. He stopped suddenly and both their eyes widened.

"I…" She trailed off. "Didn't mean to, I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He said, "It's totally cool. Wasn't totally your fault."

Laura stayed silent, before she just moved off of him and sat down beside him on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a few moments.

"Ross, I have to tell you something."

"Sup?" He asked, turning towards her.

"I broke up with Max today," She said after a few moments of just staring at him.

He blinked, "what? Why?"

"Because… he was acting like such a jerk after he found out about us drinking and he wouldn't listen to reason or anything and kept yelling at me. I mean, it's understandable, but he didn't have to treat it in that way."

Ross agreed, "Yeah, you don't deserve that."

The same thing was on both their minds: _kind of funny how you break up with your boyfriend the day you and Ross kiss after however long it's been. _

Laura just wanted to tell her inner voice to shut the fuck up.

It was silent then, not too uncomfortable, but not comfortable either.

"Come in!" Ross called after someone knocked on the door. It opened and Ellen stuck her head inside. She saw how Ross and Laura were sitting so close to each other and though she found it very cute, she had a few words she had to say to her daughter.

"Laura? It's time to go home. Ross? Your parents would like to speak with you."

She didn't want to go home. Every fiber of her being was fighting against it, but she had caused enough trouble as it was. So, turning to Ross and giving him a big, tight bear hug, she followed after her mom.

The car ride home was silent, but the whole time she was thinking about her friendship with Ross and how it had changed so much in the past few weeks, let alone the past year.

She broke up with Max for a reason and that reason was because though he had been nice and sweet when they first started dating, he started to jump to crazy conclusions after she said she was going back to work on _Austin and Ally _again. He knew the fans wanted her to be with Ross and he was constantly giving her shit, checking in on her every moment he could when she wasn't filming.

It wasn't like she was cheating on him, she'd never do that.

Maybe there was a whole other reason why she broke up with him; she just wasn't ready to admit it yet. Not to herself and most definitely not to anyone else let alone her super adorably handsome blonde costar.

* * *

"Ross, please take a seat," Stormie said and Ross did as she asked. "Now, we'd like to talk to you about your behavior lately."

Ross nodded.

"We feel that you've been acting out and getting into trouble lately because you're angry." Mark began, "So, want to tell us why?"

"I'm not angry." Ross said, "I have no reason to be."

"Well, your actions as of late say otherwise, so please, Ross. Tell us what's going on. We're your parents, we can help you. You just have to let us."

"I know, I just… I don't know. I feel like you are picking out my roles and what I should audition for and what I shouldn't and it's driving me crazy."

"Are you feeling tired?" Stormie asked.

Ross nodded, "Sort of. I mean, I love the band and I love the show, but I start promoting _Teen Beach Movie _soon and it's going to tire me out. I was told I had to travel all the way to Australia to promote with Maia and I don't mind it, I just…" He looked down. "I feel like if I went without Laura I'd be cheating or something."

Stormie's eyebrows rose, "So, this is about Laura?"

He lifted his head, "Sort of… maybe? I don't know." He sighed, "I just hate to travel without her. I made a mistake before and I don't want to make it again."

"Ross, it's not something you have control over. You can't just travel with her, she's got her life and you've got yours."

"But she gets me and she's the best friend I've ever had. And I know she's got school and like you said a life, but I don't know. I made the mistake of leaving her behind and I don't want to do it again."

"So, that's why you've been spending so much time together, because you're afraid of losing her." Mark summed up and Ross nodded.

"But what about your constant fighting?"

"That has to do with something much deeper I guess," Ross answered. "It's hard to explain."

Stormie nodded and it was silent for a few moments.

"Okay, well… look, here's what we're going to do about the whole you leaving work without permission today thing. You can't drive your car for two weeks, okay? Your mother or Rocky, Rydel or even Riker on his way to work will drop you off. I understand that you need a break, and that you did do something good for a sick child and I'm very proud of you for that, but you have to understand the consequences of your actions. Leaving work when you're in the middle of production is not okay and you should've known that." Mark lectured him.

Ross nodded, "Yes sir."

Mark nodded and Stormie stood up, "Dinner will be ready soon, go get washed up and tell your brothers and sister."

He nodded and stood up. Going back up the stairs and into his room, he paused at the doorway staring at his bed. So many memories happened there, good and bad, and he was beginning to think that there was something his subconscious has been telling him all along, but he was unwilling to admit.

His gaze moving over a bit, he saw Ryland was sitting on his bed playing video games.

"Dinner's soon. Do me a favor and tell the others? I'm going to go shower."

Ryland nodded. "Will do, bro."

Ross grabbed a towel and then quickly went into the shower. He turned the water on and stood under it for a few minutes, thinking everything over in his mind. Laura was rebelling because of her mom lying to her about her father, he was rebelling because… he didn't really have a reason to, he was just a seventeen year old boy who was sick of feeling controlled by everyone.

He and Laura were rebelling together because… well, he didn't really know why.

After cleaning himself up, he got out of the shower, drying his hair with his towel. He went back in his room and changed, then he heard his mother call out that it was dinner time.

He checked his phone to see that there were no messages. He threw it on his bed and just as he did, it lit up with a message.

_Ross, this might sound really strange… but I miss you, a lot._


	7. Chapter 7

**Laura's wayyy out of character here. Just sayin'. But I think by the end of it, she'll go back to her normal happy self. And by "end of it" I mean the story. **

**Enjoy. **

* * *

Laura stormed into the house, slamming the door hard behind her as she turned around to face her mother who had called her name.

"You do not have a right to be upset right now." Ellen sharply reminded her. "I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but you need to—"

"I need to what mom? Chill? Relax? Not be such a bitch?"

"_Think_ about what you're doing." Her mother responded with instead. "You're acting out and its scaring me."

"Ever think that maybe I've got things going on? Like for the fact that my mother lied to me my entire life about my father? You told me he was dead! Obviously he's not, you just didn't want to admit you had Vanessa and I with two brothers! That's so… ugh!" Laura put her hands in to her hair and spun around, she walked away from her mother and into the kitchen where she found Vanessa was, going over her script for the taping she had the next day.

"Laura, you will not talk to me that way," Ellen stormed into the kitchen. "I am your mother and you will respect me!"

"You don't deserve any more respect!" Laura yelled back at her. "I hate you!" With that, she walked out into the backyard, letting the door slam behind her again.

Vanessa looked at her mother and held her hand up, "I'll go talk to her." She got up and went outside to where she saw Laura was sitting on a lounge chair, her head in her hands as she just glared at the ground. She slowly approached her, "That was kind of cold, don't you think?"

Laura snapped her head up, "So what, you think I'm acting out too? Am I scaring the shit out of you?"

Vanessa nodded, "If you want me to be honest, yeah." She sat down beside her. "What's going on with you, Laura? Is it the news about our father? Does this have to do with school? The show? Or…" She trailed off as Laura looked up at her again. "Does this have to do with Ross?"

"What would Ross have to do with anything? We had a great day, we're buddies."

"Laura, I'm about to ask you something and I need you to be as honest as you can be with me, okay?" Laura just blinked at her, so she took that as a go ahead to continue. "Have you or Ross ever… done anything?"

"You mean like, kiss?" Vanessa nodded. "Yeah, we have for the show…" Laura looked at her strangely.

"No I mean, outside of the show."

Laura stared ahead for a moment and Vanessa knew she got her answer, but then Laura spoke. "No. We've never kissed or have done anything outside of the show." She turned to her older sister and Vanessa wasn't sure if she could tell whether Laura was lying or not.

"But do you want something to happen?"

"I—I don't—" Laura cut off. "I don't know. We're friends, okay? Just best friends, maybe not like normal best friends, but we're still best friends."

"Best friends who are acting out right now." Vanessa pointed out. "What is it? Laura, you can tell me. We tell each other everything and see you like this… it hurts, I want to know what I can do to fix it."

Laura stood up, shaking her head. "There's nothing anyone can do. Maybe if mom admitted she lied to me, that might help, but otherwise…" Laura shrugged, looking away. "I have homework to do." And with that, she walked back into the house, leaving behind her very distraught older sister who was left to think about what she could do to fix everything.

* * *

Ross sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He read the text he'd gotten over and over. Before he finally put his phone down beside him and threw his arm over his face.

His phone vibrated on his stomach and he quickly picked it up to see he had a text from Laura.

_Everything is so messed up, Ross. I just told my mom I hated her. _

He furrowed his eyebrows together as he read it again, and then finally he came up with a response.

_Why would you say that? _

Five minutes later, he got a response.

_Because I was mad at her, for not telling me about my father, for… I don't know, just everything I guess. _

He didn't answer quickly enough and got another text from her.

_Sneak out with me? _

He sat up quickly and looked over at Ryland who was fast asleep in his bed. He looked at the clock they kept on their dresser and saw that it said it was about one thirty in the morning.

He responded back. My_ car got taken away._

_So? You have feet. Meet me at the corner store in five minutes. _

Thank god they didn't live too far from each other, he thought to himself and quickly got up. He grabbed his _Monsters University _hoodie and put it on, walking over to his closet he put on his yellow converse, just leaving his sweats on and walked out of the room and out of the house, shutting the door softly behind him. Then he walked down the street and to the corner store, where he saw a familiar figure was leaning against the wall of the store.

He ran up to her quickly, happy to find that it was Laura.

"Hey." He gently told her and she looked up at him, tears in her eyes as she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around him hugging him close. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back, just holding her.

"Hi." She smiled through her tears, pulling away to look at him. "Thanks for coming to meet me."

He shrugged, "You know I'd do anything for you."

They both knew he meant a lot more in just that seven-word sentence than he let on.

"What are you even doing awake at this hour?" Laura asked.

"I couldn't sleep," He admitted. "You?"

"I couldn't sleep either." She leaned her head against his chest, and closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her tighter, leaning against the wall of the store.

They stayed silent for a few minutes. It was a comfortable silence and something they were both used to.

Laura couldn't deny that she felt the most comfortable she ever felt when Ross was holding her. He always gave the best hugs and this time was no different. He made her feel safe and protected, like nothing could ever harm her.

She wondered what that meant, and if it meant she had feelings for him. Feelings that she thought went away a long time ago.

But, she thought. They probably never did, they were probably just covered up by how angry she was at him.

She lifted her head a bit to look at him. "We're so strange." She commented and he smiled at her.

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know." She admitted, "I just think we are."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think that too sometimes."

She smiled, "It does make me feel a little bit better, actually." She pulled away just slightly so that they could both look at each other better. "You're always so comforting, you make me feel better without even doing anything."

"I'm just good like that I guess," He joked.

She rolled her eyes, "Think we'll be friends forever? Even if we fight and argue and drive each other crazy?"

He looked at Laura seriously before hugging her again. What he said next made fresh new tears come to her eyes, but this time, they were happy tears.

"I'm not letting you go that easily." He whispered into her hair.

"Good." She whispered back, "Because I wouldn't want you to."

* * *

Ross quietly shut the door to the front of his house and walked back into his room. He sighed to himself, relieved that he'd snuck out and back in without waking anyone up and then lay down on his bed, ignoring the fact the he still wore his shoes and sweatshirt, just as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

_Home yet? I still cant believe you walked me back home. You mister, are a silly boy. _

He smiled at Laura's text and quickly responded back.

_What kind of gentleman would I be to let a lady walk home by herself? Like I said, I would be fine and I was. I'm home now. No zombies or demons got to me. _

He laughed out loud at her response.

_Thank god, I don't know how I would've been able to explain that in a police report. Anyway, I should get to bed. We've got work tomorrow. Goodnight you pain in my ass. _

He smiled.

_Goodnight, princess. _

He knew that made her smile. And he was right, since she sent him back a smiley face.

He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Laura seemed a bit indifferent, he noticed, at work the next morning. Rocky had agreed to give him a ride, and Rydel had decided to tag along at the last minute. Currently, Laura was in her dressing doing homework and the three of them were in Ross' dressing room. He was playing the guitar beside Rocky, who was doing the same and Rydel stood behind the keyboard, just playing some keys, while the three of them stayed lost in their own worlds.

Until Rydel looked up and asked the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Why is Laura acting out?"

Ross' head snapped up and he looked at her. "I can't answer that." He said quietly. "That's a question you need to ask her."

"More important question," Rocky spoke, his fingers going over the strings as he continued on, "Why are _you _acting out?"

"I'm not acting out… I got drunk and then went to go work out my problems with Laura."

"In the middle of a work day," Rydel interjected. "That's not like you at all, Ross."

"Yeah, would you have done that if we were in the middle of recording?" Rocky looked at him.

Ross chose his words carefully, "To be honest, I don't know. But it's Laura, I'd do _anything _for her."

He didn't look up from the guitar at the point because he didn't want to see the looks on his older brother and sister's faces.

"Okay then." Rydel answered after a few moments.

Ross sighed, "Look, it's just… Laura and I have been through a lot and I just don't want to lose her, you know? Kevin told us to work out our shit, so we did. Sort of, I think. It doesn't matter, well, it does, but—"

"You're rambling," Rocky interrupted him.

"We didn't meant to do what we did, but if you knew half the shit Laura was going through right now and what we went through before together, you'd probably understand."

"Then what's—" Rydel began, but at that moment a stage manager stuck his head inside, motioning for Ross to go with him. Ross nodded and stood up. He turned to Rydel, who just silently nodded her head, waving him off.

After the door was shut, she looked at Rocky.

"I hope you're thinking what I'm thinking," Rocky began as he started to play the guitar again. "That Ross and Laura are in denial about their feelings for eachother."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Rydel answered with a sigh. "I just wish they'd see it soon."

"Well, there's nothing we can do, but hope they do." Rocky looked at her. "And hope that it happens sooner than later."

* * *

Ross walked onto the Sonic Boom set, noticing that Laura was at the piano. She was playing a sort of sad tune, but he took the seat beside her and she looked at him and smiled. He took that as a good sign.

"Feeling better?"

To his surprise, Laura laid her head on his shoulder, and nodded her head. "With you here, I'm feeling much better. I always do." She answered honestly. She looked up at him and he looked down at her.

But before anyone could do or say anything more, Kevin cleared his throat, getting both their attentions.

"I've talked to Heath and we've decided to let you two off with a warning." He sighed, "I don't know what the hell is going on with you two, but if you leave like that again in the middle of production, we're going to have way more issues than just getting your car taken away, alright?" He looked pointedly at Ross, who just assumed he'd spoken with his parents.

Laura and Ross nodded.

"Good." He walked off then and Laura looked at Ross. She tried not to laugh, but found it was hard and just burst into laughter.

"How are you even laughing right now?" Ross asked, an eyebrow raised, but a smile on his face.

Laura shook her head, "I don't know, I just… so much is going on and I just…" She looked at him, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess this is my way of dealing with everything."

"So..." Ross said after a few moments of silence. "What other crazy shit are we going to get up to today?"

"Whatever Ally gets up to, I guess." Laura answered, though she lay her head back on his shoulder and started to play a more upbeat tune. "As long as Austin is willing to be with her when she does whatever it is, then we'll be okay."

He wasn't sure if by the end of that sentence if she was talking about him, them or they're characters, but he nodded anyway.

"Austin will always be there for Ally." He whispered, wrapping one arm around her, he hugged her close. "He's never leaving."

Laura smiled, "She wouldn't want him to."

"He wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

"Ross! Ross!" He looked up just in time to see Laura run towards him and trip. He quickly got to her and caught her, standing her upright.

"What is it?" He asked, "And are you okay?"

"Fine, yeah." She moved her hair out of her way and looked at him excitedly.

"What is it?"

"I know where my dad is," She finally said. "He's in New York."

"New York? As in the state we'll be in when we go over there for promotional stuff?" She nodded excitedly. "And I'm guessing you want to meet him?"

"You're really good at this game." She responded sarcastically. He gave her a look. She rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes I do. Can we do it?"

"Are we going there by ourselves?" He asked her and she shrugged. "Should probably check on that first. Also, how did you even find this information out?"

"My mother." She answered, and he raised an eyebrow. He knew Laura and her mother hadn't been speaking much since their fight the other day. "What I mean is, she left her laptop open in her office and I snooped around a bit. I found out where he lived from emails and stuff that they've sent back and forth with each other."

"Wow."

"Yeah, so… I have the information. We just… have to go find him now, I guess." Her eyes shined with adventure and curiosity and honestly, Ross couldn't say no to her.

"Alright." He answered a moment later, letting out a sigh. "We'll find him."

Laura squealed and hugged him close. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, holding it behind Laura. Luckily she was too into the hug to notice.

_You haven't responded to my text and I sent it weeks ago. Do you hate me or something? What's going on?_

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he just returned Laura's hug and decided that the text could wait for another day.

* * *

**Major hints are starting to come out about what happened between them. Also, everyone is starting to notice something about their friendship... that seems a bit different. Hmm... and who is this mystery person texting Ross? Another hmm... well, read, review and you shall find out soon! :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Not much to say about this one except that you find out who that mystery girl is that's texting Ross. I got some good guesses, but they were all wayyy off. **

* * *

"Seriously? Who keeps texting you?" Laura looked up from her math homework to see Ross was typing away on his phone again. She narrowed her eyes, "And would it kill you to put it on vibrate? It's getting so annoying!"

"Right, sorry." He muttered, and put the phone back down. He thought for a moment, and then looked at her, deciding it was best to just ell her what was going on, without really _telling _her what was going on. Though, he had hesitated a bit.

She looked up again to see he was leaning over her, his forehead almost touching hers. "Yes? May I help you?" She teased.

"Yeah… I sort of need help with… uhm, something?" He looked nervous, and Laura knew it because he was playing with his fingers. She put her hand gently on top of his and he looked up at her, they're eyes meeting.

"What's up?" She closed her math book with her other hand and gave him her full attention.

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it a moment later. "You know what? Nevermind. I shouldn't distract you from your homework… I'm sorry." He tried to move, but she held him in place, her hand holding his tighter.

"Come on, it's you and me, Ross. You can tell me."

"Oh-okay." He stammered, then he took a deep breath. "I keep getting texts from this girl, that I uhm.. well, we had a thing a while ago, but I broke it off, and now she won't leave me alone and I'm just… I want her to go away basically."

Laura looked taken aback. He would bet every guitar he owned that she wasn't expecting that to be the issue.

"Okay," She said a moment later, "Well, have you tried telling her to leave you alone?" She asked, letting go of his hand. He took that as a not so good sign. She blinked her eyes and then got up, walking to the other side of the room, where she put her book down, turning around to face him a moment later.

"Yeah, but she won't take a hint."

"Then, I don't know… change your number I guess."

"That seems a bit drastic."

"Yeah, well, if that's your only option, I'd say you should take it."

His phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket. His eyes widened at the message and he looked at Laura.

"What?" She asked, staying where she was.

"She…fuck!" He pushed his fingers through his hair and started to pace back and forth.

"Ross? Just tell me, what is it?"

He shook his head. "I—I can't. Thanks for the advice, but I have to go." He tried to leave again, but Laura was too fast for him. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him back towards her. She held her hand out.

"Let me see what she said."

He shook his head. "I'd rather not."

"_Ross_." She gave him a pointed look. "It can't be that bad."

"It is."

"Okay, I won't push you." She said quietly, backing away from him. She let go of his hand and then picked up her math book. "It's up to you if you want me to know or not."

"I'm not trying to be secretive, it's just something I'm embarrassed about."

"Not to sound pushy, because just a second ago, I said I wouldn't push you, but we know _every _embarrassing story and secret about each other." She gave him a pointed look. "Nothing at this point will surprise me."

"You sure about that?" He asked after a few moments of silence. He handed her the phone and she picked it up, her eyes widening a moment later, she dropped the phone at her feet and let out a gasp.

"What the fuck was _that_?" She put her hands over her mouth.

"Told you." He glared at her as he picked up his phone.

"You—she… okay." Laura paused a moment, collecting her thoughts together. "Who is that, first of all?"

He shrugged, "I met her at a concert. She was… pretty cool, for a while, but then she got all obsessive and weird and…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish, but knowing he had to. "It was during the tour when—"

"I know!" She suddenly snapped at him. His eyes widened and she apologized. "Sorry, okay, continue. Maybe start with her name?"

"Andi."

"Good, we have something." Laura sarcastically commented. "So, this Andi chick… you met her at a concert and she sends you naked pictures?" A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Wait, have you—"

He quickly shook his head. "Hell no. I'd never, uh, do that." He rubbed that back of his head uncomfortably. "You know, only one person, not counting my parents or my brothers—long story—have seen me… uhm, like that." He looked away to avoid her eye gaze.

"Yeah, same." She sighed. "Okay, so… what she's doing, couldn't that be harassment in a way?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "She's been doing it for a few weeks now. I was kind of scared to tell you about it because of what happened and I don't know… I'm so screwed." He sat down on the couch and covered his face with his hands.

She wanted to mad at him, she really did. But she had no reason to be.

"Can I ask you something?" She spoke softly and he nodded. "Did you get with her because you were upset about what happened with us?"

He let his hands fall on his lap and then looked at her. "Maybe…I don't know. I didn't know what I was doing really."

"How is that possible? Unless you were drunk or on drugs—" She stopped speaking. "You told me the first time you've ever been drunk was with me, so does that mean—"

"No! Laura! What kind of person do you think I am?"

She narrowed her eyes, "You know what kind of person I think you are."

"Okay aside from that, I'm not some fucking druggie." He scoffed, rolling his eyes angrily.

"Yeah, well, you were upset with me and hooked up with some girl you met at a concert, seems kind of trashy to me." She couldn't stop the words before they came out of her mouth.

"You have _no _right to judge me." Ross told her as he stood up and walked over to her. She could tell he was officially pissed off. "You had a boyfriend, don't fucking tell me what's trashy and what isn't."

"Well, I didn't send him naked pictures!" She yelled back. "Nor did I have sex with him!"

"Well, news flash, Laura. I didn't have sex with her either!" He yelled, officially angry.

They stared at each other for a few moments, when Ross spoke.

"You know, you sound almost jealous." He tilted his head to the side knowingly.

"Dream on, Ross." Laura snapped, pushing passed him to grab her iPad.

"No, you are, jealous." He smirked, "You think I did more than I did, because _you _want to be that person."

She gave him a look and he shook his head. "Did you forget what happened six months ago?"

"Yeah, sure did." He responded sarcastically. "No, I didn't forget, genius."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," She muttered.

"Too bad." Ross responded back. "Look, Andi is a chick I met a concert, and she got kind of clingy and obsessive and weird like I said, but I didn't really have like real feelings for her."

"So in other words, you used her." Laura gave him a nod, "Cool, shows what kind of guy you really are right there. You _use _girls! Why does that make you better than any other user out there?"

"Goddammit, Laura!" He yelled at her, which actually scared her a bit, causing her to take a step back. "I don't use girls! We had a thing that lasted like a day, you had a thing that lasted three months! Don't tell me I used a girl, when you were probably using Max."

She stared at him, hard. "I don't think this is what you wanted to talk to me about." She answered him calmly. "Tried to help, but you don't give a crap, so I'm over it." She tried to leave this time, but he held her back.

"Admit it, you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous." She stubbornly responded. It was quiet, when she suddenly remembered something. "First, admit you were jealous when I was dating Max."

"I wasn't." He answered. "Seriously."

"I don't believe you. Admit you were _so _happy when I told you I broke up with him. I saw you smile."

"I believed you should've been with someone who wasn't a jerk about how you live your life. And I believed that you deserved someone _better_. He wasn't the right guy for you."

"Oh yeah?" Laura challenged him. "Then who, Ross, would that guy be exactly?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it soon afterwards. He let out a sigh. "What should I do about her?" He asked a moment later, going back to the whole reason why they started the conversation in the first place.

Laura looked away a moment, before grabbing her iPad, walking towards the door. "I don't know, Ross. Maybe I'm not the right person to go to about this after all." He could hear the sadness in her tone. She looked up at him. "Sorry." And then, before he could say anything else, she left the room, slamming the door hard behind her.

He just shook his head and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the text message a moment, before finally responding.

_Delete my number and stop texting me. I don't want you around me. Please, I'm begging you to leave me alone. I can't do this, I already told you that. _

He sent the message and then closed his phone, turning it off, he opened the door and walked out of the room.

Hopefully that made her stay away. If not, then he'd probably have to break the news to his parents about her and that was the very last thing he wanted to do.

* * *

Laura walked into Raini's dressing room, not bothering to knock. She threw her hands up in the air in an exasperated gesture.

"Ross is the most infuriating human being on this planet!" She pushed her fingers into her hair. "Like, why does he think he can talk to me like that and get away with it?"

Raini sighed exchanging a look with Calum, who was next to her, watching YouTube videos, moving her laptop to the side. "You guys got into another fight?" Laura nodded. "I thought you two were okay again."

"Yeah, well, no. We're not." Laura muttered.

"Ever think that you two always arguing is… I don't know, stored up sexual tension that you both need to release?" Raini asked her and Laura's face immediately turned pink.

"I…" She trailed off, not sure how to answer that exactly. "No, no. There's no way. We… we're just friends."

"Right." Calum nodded. "Then why do you guys argue so much?" He paused, "No wait, you argue and then make up like every five seconds, so nevermind, don't answer that."

"Because he's annoying." Laura lamely responded anyway. Raini and Calum both gave her a look. "Yeah, okay that was lame, but seriously. He just thinks he can talk to me the way he does sometimes and it's not okay! Like, he told me about this girl he met on tour and she sent him inappropriate pictures and he thinks I'm jealous! Well, news flash Ross Lynch, I'm not jealous of some slut."

Raini looked at her surprised, exchanging a look with Calum, before turning back to her friend. "Right, you're not jealous. Got it."

Calum rolled his eyes, "Okay, guys. I'm going to introduce a new topic to you both, so brace yourselves, it's a surprising one."

"Your sarcasm kills me," Laura muttered.

"Okay, picture this for a sec. Our characters," He gestured in between himself and Raini, "are always arguing because they need to release some sexual tension, though because it's a Disney show, that obviously won't happen. You and Ross, though, you yourselves are not a Disney show and can totally do that."

"Wait, what? Are you saying we need to have sex to not be so mad at each other all the time?" Calum nodded. "How would that even relate to Trish and Dez? They haven't done anything, unlike Ross and I—" She realized what she said and backtracked. "I mean… uh, for the show. Like, we kissed and stuff… _for the show_." She emphasized the word so that they understood it.

"Okay." Calum nodded, "I now know what's been going on. Excuse me, I have to find your other half." He told Laura, with a nod of his head.

Laura's mouth dropped open. "He's not my other half!" She shouted after him. Raini gave her a knowing look. "He's not." She insisted.

"Sure, he isn't." Raini sighed. "Look, do you want to—"

"I have to go." Laura abruptly stood up. "Excuse me." With that, she left the room, hoping to find Ross before Calum did.

"Wait, Laura, I wasn't—oh forget it." Raini muttered to herself, letting her go. She noticed though, that Laura had left her iPad behind. She wasn't really one to snoop, but with Laura and Ross arguing every five minutes, she wondered if there was something in the iPad that could answer all her questions, so she just decided to give it a shot anyways. Just to see what happened.

* * *

"Yeah, uh-huh, okay. Great! Thanks." Ross hung up his phone, turning at that moment, he noticed Laura was behind him. "Uh, hi?" He walked passed her, "What are you doing here?" He asked as he put his phone down on the table in front of him. "Aren't you busy being pissed off at me again?"

"No." Laura answered, her tone cold. "But thanks for that lovely reminder."

"Yeah, anytime." Ross responded back, and she stepped forward, enough that they were _thisclose_ to each other. He didn't back down though, "That was my mom, she said she and your mom gave Kevin permission for us to go to New York together. You're coming over later with your mom to talk about it with us."

"Oh, that's why you sounded kind of sarcastic on the phone." Laura noted. "Good to know."

"Yeah." Ross answered, looking down at her. "You're so short." He randomly commented.

"Yeah," She couldn't help herself, and smiled a bit. "I've been told that a few times."

Ross nodded. "I'm not surprised."

"You wouldn't be." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, there was a reason why I came here… I sort of—"

She was cut off by Calum yelling Ross' name and barging into the room, causing them both to step a few feet away from each other.

"Uh… did interrupt something?" Calum asked. "I could've sworn just five minutes ago, you were telling Raini and I how mad you were at him."

"Oh, I'm still mad at him." Laura responded.

Ross rolled his eyes. "I'm still mad at you too." He answered back.

"Great!" Calum smiled brightly and they both looked at him strangely. "I need to talk to you… uh, Ross? Got a sec?"

"Yeah, he's got a lot of _secs_," Laura glared at Ross pointedly before storming out of the room.

"I told you nothing happened!" Ross yelled at her, but it was pointless as she didn't even answer him.

"You guys give me so much anxiety." Calum said and Ross looked at him.

"Imagine how I feel." He muttered, sitting on the couch. "What's up?"

"I figured out why you and Laura are so pissed at each other all the time… I think. Or I feel like I know what happened that made you both that way."

"Oh yeah?"

He nodded.

Ross motioned for him to continue. "You guys need to just let out all that tension out. She's jealous of some girl you've been texting and you were very clearly jealous of her boyfriend.. so why not just act on it and sex it up already?"

Ross couldn't help himself and burst out laughing. "Dude, that's crazy. I don't have feelings for her." Calum noticed he had looked away after saying it. He knew then that he was bullshitting him.

"Have you guys ever…" Calum started to ask, and Ross gave him a wide-eyed look. "I mean outside of the show…" He clarified.

"No." Ross answered quickly. "We haven't."

Calum still wasn't convinced, but he nodded his head. "Okay." He answered, accepting his answer, much to Ross' relief. He held his hands up as if surrendering. "Okay, fine."

Though, like Calum, Ross wondered if there was any truth to what he was saying about the tension.

Maybe there was, he thought. Though he had no idea how to go about figuring out if it was there or not. That, he realized, might be a bit difficult.

* * *

"I really don't want to be here," Laura muttered, as she and her mother pulled up to Ross' house. "Like, I'd rather be on Mars right now."

"That's kind of far." Her mother told her, and Laura's response was to roll her eyes. Since Laura was still upset with her, and Ellen was upset at Laura for what she said and for not apologizing, the two didn't really speak much anymore.

"Whatever, let's just get this stupid dinner over with." Laura responded, opening the car door, she slammed it behind her.

Ellen wordlessly got out of the car and walked with her to the front door, where Laura rang the doorbell.

The door opened and Ross stood there, "Hey." He said, pointedly glaring at Laura who glared back at him.

She didn't answer him though.

He opened the door wider and she walked passed him and into the kitchen, her mother behind her as Ross just closed the door and followed them.

"Hey, Laura!" Stormie smiled at her. Laura, ever the polite girl, smiled back and gave her a hug.

"Hey, Stormie!" She looked around the kitchen, "it smells amazing in here!" She noticed Ross was standing beside her. Not wanting their mothers to suspect anything she nudged him with her elbow, "Doesn't it, Ross?"

"Smells just fantastic." He answered, "As always."

"Well, you live here, so you would know." Laura gave him a wry smile. He rolled his eyes.

"What is with you two?" Rocky asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Nothing!" Ross and Laura answered, but both with anger in their tones.

"If you guys aren't getting along again, then maybe this whole dinner was pointless." Ellen began. "You two clearly can't handle being together on your own, especially traveling across the country if you're arguing every five minutes."

"We're not mad at each other, mom." Laura turned to her. "We just had a long day and we're tired."

Ellen pursed her lips. "Fine."

Laura felt a poke on her arm and turned her head again to see Ross mouth '_Good save_'.

She gave him a curt nod in return.

"So…" Rocky trailed off awkwardly. "When's dinner, mom?"

"In five minutes." She replied.

"Cool." He said and then the tension started to become too much for him to take. "Alright then, see you guys later!" He basically ran out of the kitchen as his father walked in, taking his place.

"What's with Rocky?" He asked, looking behind him and pointing with his thumb.

"Who knows, it's Rocky." Ross responded, taking a seat in one of the stools at the counter.

"He's got a point." Stormie responded, "Dinner will be soon. Ross, Laura, could you two please set the table?"

"Of course!" Laura smiled at her, taking the napkins and silverware as Ross just muttered a quick, "Sure," under his breath. He grabbed the plates and then led Laura over to the dining room.

"You know, you could be a little nicer," She told him as she neatly folded up a napkin, placing it in a certain spot.

"Yeah, you could be a little less annoying." He responded, putting a plate down beside the napkin. She placed a fork there and glared at him.

"What is your problem?"

"What's yours?" He answered back. "All I wanted was advice from you earlier, not a damn lecture."

"You accused me of being jealous!" She whisper-yelled back. "Of some slut you hooked up with."

"Well, are you?" He asked her and she didn't answer.

"You are so annoying."

He stopped her from putting a napkin down, his hand on her wrist, causing her to look up at him.

"You can't use what I just said against me."

The look on his face caused her to let out a laugh.

He looked confused.

"You said I could be a little less annoying, not that I was actually annoying."

"You do realize, that's basically the same thing."

"Stop being technical."

It was his turn to laugh and they both noticed at that moment, that his hand was still on her wrist. Though, without a word, he moved his hand to on top of hers, and intertwined their fingers, causing her to drop the napkin she'd been holding. She felt it then, that spark. Looking up at him, she knew he felt it too.

"Come with me?" He asked and she nodded, abandoning their setting the table job, he led her to his room. She noticed Ryland wasn't there and was thankful for that. He closed the door and then faced her, his hand still holding hers. He then moved a strand of hair out of her face with his other hand, gently rubbing the side with his thumb. "Why do we fight so much?" He asked her quietly.

"We both know the answer to that." She responded. "We're…we…" She trailed off. He let his hand drop then and she suddenly missed it.

"I messed up, I know. You remind me of that everyday, whether it's meant to be direct or not."

"I'm sorry." She answered, "But you hurt me so much that I just… I don't know."

"I understand." He held her hand tighter. "But no matter how often we fight…" He lifted their hands to in between them so that she could see he meant what he was about to say. "I'm never letting you go."

It was so cheesy and so… romantic in a way, Laura realized. Yet, it was so _Ross_.

"I hope not." She responded, "I can't live without you."

"Neither can I. And I mean live without you, not me, because I'm me and—" She giggled, cutting him off.

"I get it."

"So, then does that mean you're going to admit you were jealous?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Yes, in your dreams."

He laughed at her and then they both realized just how close they actually were. His eyes moved down to her lips and she gave him a nod. They leaned in closer, their lips about to touch, when Ross heard his name being called and quickly moved away from her.

Goddamnit! She cursed in her head, realizing that all it was, was just a fleeting moment they were both caught up in. It wouldn't happen again, that she knew.

"We should probably…" Ross rubbed the back of his head nervously. Laura nodded.

"Yeah," She agreed. "Let's go."

They both hadn't noticed until they sat down at the table together, that they were still holding hands. Tightly, as if their lives depended on it.

* * *

"Okay, you two." Mark began. "I know that you've both heard the news, we're allowing you to go to New York on your own. Despite all the shit you two have pulled these past few weeks."

"Yeah." Laura nodded, "I'm actually curious to know why."

"Well, we thought about it." Stormie answered, "A lot, and all three of us talked it over with each other."

"Since it's for work and for promotion and all that, we decided it was best for you two to go by yourselves so that we won't be weighing you down or distracting you." Mark responded.

"I could agree with that," Ross nodded.

"I bet you would." Rocky commented and Rydel smacked him.

"Kevin mentioned that you guys have a very busy schedule, so you two are expected to stick with it, understand?" Ellen spoke sharply. "If something goes wrong on this trip, this will be the first and last unsupervised trip you two will have until you turn eighteen, okay?"

Ross and Laura looked at each other and nodded, "we understand." They said together.

"Okay." Mark sighed, rubbing his temples. "No more arguing, no more anything for the next couple of days. Can you try to get along?"

"What? We weren't arguing today." Ross made a face.

"Really? Because we heard you two had a fight." Stormie responded.

"What the hell? Are we five or something?" Ross demanded, "Do you check up and call in all the time?"

"We've had to, since this season started. Kevin's worried, and let's not forget you both disappeared in the middle of a production day." Mark sharply reminded him.

Ross shut up then.

"Let's just eat." Stormie sighed, getting up, she walked into the kitchen and then came back a moment later, with the bowl of pasta.

Laura, who had been quiet, looked up at her. "I'm so sorry." She said, "For everything."

Stormie nodded in understanding. "It's okay, sweetie." She smiled at her and Laura felt a little better, but not quite.

She still had an apology to make to her mother that she wasn't particularly looking forward to.

* * *

It was silent on the car ride home. Laura was understandably tired, and Ellen just didn't know what to say around her anymore without her daughter blowing up at her.

Around the time they pulled into the driveway and were silently sitting in the car, was when Laura decided she couldn't take it anymore and pulled her mother into a tight hug.

"I don't hate you." She whispered, tears in her eyes. "You're the best mom, and I love you." She paused for a moment, "I'm sorry."

Ellen hugged her back, but didn't say anything. Laura didn't need her to, to know what she was thinking.

It was all in the hug.

* * *

"So you made up with your mom?" Ross spoke over the phone as Laura nodded, changing into a pair of sweats. She noticed they weren't hers, but actually Ross' that he let her borrow when they had taken a trip to Toronto for a meet and greet and she'd forgotten to pack a pair of pajamas of all things. She smiled to herself.

"Yeah," She responded a few moments later. "I told her I was sorry and that she was the best mom and that I love her."

"It's all true, isn't it." He said more as a statement than a question.

"Every word of it."

She tried to put her foot into the pant leg, but fell backwards on her bed. She burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"I was trying to put on pants and tripped." She answered, sitting up, finally managing to get them on and then blushing once she realized what she'd told him.

"You would." He responded and she rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, kinda awesome how our parents are letting us travel to New York by ourselves isn't it?"

"They're cool like that I guess." Ross joked.

"Yeah, but… I mean, I feel like we shouldn't be allowed to do this, you know? I feel like…"

"Since we both pull crazy shit when we're alone that they should come with us?" He finished and she nodded, snapping her fingers.

"Exactly."

"Well, I guess this is a good thing…" He trailed off. "It means we have alone time and we can—"

"Find my father!" Laura exclaimed, but quickly covered her mouth, hoping her mother or Vanessa didn't overhear. "Is it weird that I totally forgot about that?"

"No. You've had your mind on other things."

She nodded, "yeah…" She trailed off for a moment. "Life of an actor, I guess."

"I couldn't agree more."

It was silent in between them as Laura fell back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"You know, I really like these late night phone conversations," Laura smiled.

"Yeah," She could practically hear the smile in Ross' voice. "I do too."

"It sucks we had to end them for a while…" She absentmindedly said, and then trailed off once she realized it.

"Yeah, well… what can you do?" Ross answered. She noted that he sounded a bit bitter and it went silent again, as she didn't know what to say in response.

"We should do them more often," She finally decided on saying.

"Yeah totally." Ross agreed. "So… ready to admit you were jealous earlier?" He asked a moment later, but with a teasing tone this time instead of a rude one, which smiled in response to.

Laura rolled her eyes, "Goodnight, Ross."

He let out a dramatic sigh and it made her giggle.

"Night Laura."

And with that, they hung up the phone, both going to sleep with huge smiles on their faces.

* * *

**Heh, next update soon! Let me know what you think! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**This one's short, but super cute. I really like it. I had to have something without any drama in it, so this shows just how close they are/have gotten. **

**Enjoy. **

* * *

Ross opened his eyes, and through his blurry vision, he saw Laura in front of him. He rubbed his eyes, and slowly sat up, confusion all over his face.

"Wha—what happened?" He groggily asked as Laura started to shake him awake again.

"You were sleeping," She stated simply and kneeled down in front of him, her arms folded on his knees as she looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," He yawned, "why wouldn't I be?"

She shrugged, "You just seem a little tired, that's all."

He nodded, "Yeah, we had a rehearsal for our show tonight."

Laura raised an eyebrow, "How am I with you everyday and I didn't know your band was playing tonight?"

He shrugged, "I did mention it to you, you probably weren't listening or just forgot. Anyway, we were up pretty late and then I had to wake up and come to set for rehearsals here as well."

She stared at him a moment, shaking her head. "I still don't know how you do it."

He gave her a small smile, "me neither, sometimes, if you want me to be honest." He let out another yawn and then shook his head. "You up for a concert tonight?" He asked, almost offhandedly.

She thought about it, "Well, I do have a date…" She trailed off, noticing the way the expression on his face soured for just a split second. She smiled to herself before continuing, "With my math and science books, but I suppose I could cancel on them and squeeze you in." She didn't miss the way a grin spread across his face.

"Sweet. I still can't drive, so I'll pick you up with Rydel or something at around five. You're coming with us to soundcheck and preshow rehearsals."

"Gosh, you are so demanding." She fanned her face dramatically and Ross smiled.

But then his smile disappeared, "Shit, I just remembered I have to pack for New York, don't we leave first thing tomorrow?"

She nodded apologetically. "How about this, since I'm all packed and ready—"

"As usual." He muttered. She ignored that.

"I'll come over straight after work and then I'll just leave with you from there. I'll already have my make-up done and all from the show, so I'll just keep it and yeah. Wear what I wore today. Yeah, that's a good idea. Then I could help you pack."

"You would really do that for me?"

She let out a sigh, "I guess…" She grinned at him and stood up, holding her hand out. "Come on Sleepyhead, we've got a show to rehearse for." He took her hand and stood up, pulling her into a bear hug.

"You're the best Laura."

She looked up at him. "I get that a lot."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes, as Laura hugged him tighter. His hugs were always the best and she didn't want it to end.

But unfortunately it had to.

"Let's go before Raini or Calum scares the crap out of us by slamming the door open." Ross said and Laura laughed.

"That is something they'd totally do too."

"Yeah, let's not risk it."

Laura smiled, "Okay, but just one more second." She said and hugged him again.

He wasn't going to argue with that.

* * *

"Finally, it's over!" Laura cheered as she and Ross walked out of the studio. "Calum and Raini were lucky they got to leave early." She pouted.

"Yeah, they're not in the episode as much apparently." Ross said, absentmindedly flipping through his script. He yawned as he got into Laura's car, as she sat in the passenger's seat. She noticed it and looked at him.

"Will you be okay? You're running on like four hours of sleep."

He shrugged, "I'm used to it."

"Take a little nap when you get home, it's only about two. You've got a good four hours, before you need to be at the venue."

He nodded, "Probably a good idea."

She started the car then and he closed his eyes, leaning back against the seat as she backed out of her spot and drove towards his house. It was silent, but Laura wasn't complaining. She pulled up in front of his house and gently shook him awake.

"Ross? We're here. I'd carry you in, but I'm kinda not strong enough for that."

Ross opened his eyes and looked at her. "You have to admit, that'd be pretty awesome though."

Laura gave him a look, "I'm glad you think my pain is so funny."

He smiled, imagining it happening. "It'll happen one day."

"Yes, but that day isn't today. Come on, let's get you inside so you can sleep." He nodded and she opened the door, meeting him at his door, she helped him out and then walked with him to his front door. He unlocked it and then literally stumbled his way up the stairs and into his room. He fell face first on the bed. Laura giggled and he turned towards her, holding his hand out. She took it and he pulled her down with him. "What on earth—"

"Lay with me," He told her, looking at her. "I don't want you to leave."

"I wasn't going to." Laura assured him.

"No one's home now anyways." He pointed out, he laid on his bed and looked up at her. "Will you sleep with me—not like that though," He added quickly. "I just…" He trailed off, thinking over what to say. "I want you here with me," He finally decided with.

Laura didn't know how to feel about that, but she slowly nodded. "Yeah," She smiled at him, genuinely touched about what he'd said. She lay down on his bed on her side and he shifted so that he could wrap an arm around her. His hand found hers and he held it. He settled himself against her and then closed his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere," She whispered.

"Good." He whispered back.

"Hey, do you remember around the first time we met, when we were in your dressing room and I commented on all the blankets you had in there and you told me you take a lot of naps in between takes?"

He nodded. She felt it on her neck. "Yeah, and you were wondering why I needed so many blankets and I told you I like to cuddle."

She smiled, "Yeah, I thought you were so strange, and then I came in a day later and you were asleep and then as I tried to wake you up you just pulled me on the couch and cuddled with me, the blankets over us."

"Was that the first time we ever really cuddled?"

She nodded, "Yeah," She paused, "But I loved it. You were so comfy and cuddly and I just wanted to do it everyday." She admitted.

He lifted his head and she looked at him, "Really?"

She nodded. "So, this kinda makes up for the times we didn't." She teased.

Ross was silent for a moment, before he let go of her and got up. She sat up, confused.

"What are you—" He came back a moment later, a pale yellow blanket in his hand. She touched it and noticed how soft it was.

"This might be weird or cheesy or whatever, and I'm totally blaming it on my lack of sleep, but maybe not." He paused a moment, before laying down beside her, and putting the blanket on top of them. "It's my baby blanket," He admitted. "I slept with it all the time and… I don't know, this is probably the first time I've ever shared it with anyone, so…"

Laura couldn't help but turn to him and smile, "I feel very special." She assured him.

"I hope so, because I was scared to do that." He admitted.

"It's just me, Ross. You can tell me anything."

"Yeah, we're closer than most best friends." He made a face, "Strangely close, and we're not even dating."

She laughed, "It's how we work I guess." She turned back around, her hand finding his, she intertwined their fingers and then pulled his arm over her. "Sleep Ross, I don't want you to pass out at your concert tonight."

He yawned, "No promises."

She giggled. Turning towards him she gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. "Get some sleep, I'll still be here when you wake up, I promise."

He settled into her more and then soon she could feel his steady breathing, letting her know he was asleep. She smiled to herself and got more comfortable, closing her eyes, she soon fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

A flash in his eyes woke Ross up and he looked up to see his mother was standing above him, a camera pointed at him and Laura, who was still fast asleep.

"What are you doing?" He whispered, "And why?"

"You two just looked so cute together," Stormie told him, "I had to take a picture."

"Okay…" He gave her a look, "what time is it?"

"It's three thirty, you should get up so you can get ready for the concert," She told him. "Rocky's in the shower and Riker and Rydel are warming up. Ratliff should be here soon. Ryland's already at the venue with your father, getting set up, so you should start getting ready to go."

He nodded. "Okay, but…" He bit his lip, trailing off he pointedly looked at Laura. "I'm so comfy."

His mother smiled at him, "I know. But this won't be the last time," She assured him and before he could ask or wonder what she meant, she left the room, gently close the door behind her.

He groaned and then gently shook Laura awake. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Ross above her. She smiled.

"Time to get up, Sleepyhead." He teased her, "I feel a lot better, thanks for letting me sleep."

"Of course, I feel refreshed myself," She admitted and got up. She looked around his room, "Where's your suitcase, I'll pack for you."

"You really think you know what I'd want and wouldn't want?"

"It's the middle of October, so I'd say you'd want warm clothes for cold weather I mean. It's freezing in New York."

"I grew up in Colorado," He reminded her. "I know what cold is."

"Touche," She responded. "You don't mind me going through your clothes do you?"

He shook his head, "Nope, not at all. You know where they are right? Ryland might get mad if I take something of his by accident."

"We wouldn't want that to happen," She muttered and then got up, "Okay, give me the suitcase or whatever you're taking as a carry-on and I'll start. You, mister," She leaned in more and pointed a finger in his chest, "Should get ready for your concert."

He nodded and then without really think about it, gave her a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and then got up to go shower. She touched the spot he kissed and then got up to go to his dresser.

He came back, not a moment later with a duffel bag and handed it to her. She took it and then started to put clothes into it as he left again. She heard the shower a moment later, and then diligently worked until she was done, and the clothes were neatly folded.

She heard the door open to his room as she tried to close the duffel bag. "Alright, Ross, all packed. All you need is your toothbrush and whatever else you need."

"Cool, thanks." He answered.

She nodded, still not managing to close the stubborn bag. "Yeah, no problem." She grew frustrated a moment later, "ugh! This won't close! What do I have to—" She turned at that moment and saw a dripping wet, half-naked Ross behind her. "Uh, hi." She managed to say.

"Hi." He smiled boyishly at her, he looked at her closely. "You okay?"

She quickly snapped out of it, whatever it was she was in. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." She managed to say. Ross reached behind her to grab a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. She turned around then, but he'd left at that moment back to the bathroom. She waited about two minutes, and he came back inside, just in his boxers.

"Still have trouble with the bag?" He asked and she tried to focus.

"Y-yeah." She managed to say.

"Here…I'll help." He was closer to her now. So damn close. He reached over her, and then magically managed to close zip it closed. "See? It's not so hard?"

His arms were around her, his body close, and she found that it was hard to breathe all of a sudden.

Well, shit, she thought.

She nodded, "Thanks." She said and he moved away from her. Grabbing a pair of jeans he put them on and then his shirt.

"I'll be ready to go soon, are you?"

She nodded, "Yeah, whenever you're ready."

"Awesome." He smiled and she wondered if at that moment he had any clue as to what he'd just done.

Even if she didn't want to admit that she really enjoyed it. Nope, not to anyone. Not even herself.

* * *

"This is awesome!" Ross shouted excitedly as soon as they had gotten backstage. He ran up to Rocky who was a bit ahead of him and high-fived him. "I'm so pumped right now."

"Ten bucks says he's going to try to jump on Rocky, fail and fall to the floor." Riker muttered to Laura who just shook her head and laughed.

"I wouldn't doubt it. Ross may not be as clumsy as I am, but he's certainly not a monkey." Laura said, and at Riker's confused stare clarified more. "Meaning he can't jump all over the place without killing himself."

"Ahh." Riker nodded. "Gotcha."

Ross ran over to her, "Laura! Come here, you have to see this!"

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him. She laughed, stumbling forward and followed him. They soon got to stage left and he abruptly stopped.

"What are you—" She didn't get to finish before he covered her eyes with his hands.

"Close your eyes and wait until I tell you to open them." She nodded and he slowly walked her onto the stage. Positioning her where he wanted her, he let his hands fall. "Open."

She did and then she let out a gasp.

"All those seats are going to be filled with people soon." He said, "Isnt it cool?"

She nodded, "Way cool."

"Best part is, you're going to be able to see them from this point of view."

She had to process that for a moment before she turned to him. "Wait, what?"

"We," He motioned in between them both with his finger, "Are going to perform a song together."

"We? As in us? As in you and me?" She asked.

"No, as in me and Rydel." He shook his head, rolling his eyes.

She narrowed hers.

"It'll be fun!" He smiled and gave her his adorable boyish grin she loved and hated all at the same time.

Damn him, she thought. But she knew she was going to do it anyway.

* * *

"That was amazing!" Laura exclaimed. "Oh my god, I love being on stage!

"Right?" Rydel smiled at her. "Feels good, huh?"

"Yeah. Man, I can't wait to do that again," Laura grinned.

"Maybe you'll get your chance sooner than you think." Ross cryptically responded.

"Did you see the way the crowd went crazy for you?" Ratliff asked Laura, "Like as soon as you walked onstage, it was _insane_."

She smiled, "Well, they're favorite Disney couple was here after all." She shared a smile with Ross.

"So," Rydel spoke a few moments later. "Ready for your big trip alone tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we're all packed." Ross responded. "Well, technically Laura is since she packed for me, but yeah." He blinked, "Anyway, we're pretty stoked."

"Yeah, I can't believe our parents are letting us go by ourselves. Especially after, well, everything." Laura said and Ross agreed.

Rydel smirked. "Guess they're just pretty awesome that way I guess."

"Yeah." Ross said, "Pretty damn cool."

Suddenly, Laura let out an excited squeal and then without warning, jumped on Ross, wrapping her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist, she hugged him. He was startled for a moment, but soon hugged her back.

"I can't wait for our trip." She whispered in his ear. "It's going to be so fun."

Ross wondered if she meant going to find her father (or if she even remembered it), but then soon realized that he didn't care. She was happy and that was all that was important to him.

"Yeah," He whispered back, hugging her tighter. "It's going to be unforgettable."

She felt the butterflies in her stomach go crazy and then lowered herself to the ground her arms still wrapped around Ross. He felt something in his stomach, but didn't let go of Laura. He didn't want to. He never did.

* * *

**FEELINGS ARE STARTING. Even I'm fangirling, lol. What'd you guys think of the last two episodes of _Austin and Ally _though? So, so cute. **

**Let me know what you thought! Next update will be soon, and warning: there will be drama in the next chapter. So, look out for that, but yeah. Surprise guest too. Can't wait! And I'm the one writing it.**

**To be honest, I don't know if this even makes sense, but I'm tired, so don't judge me. Love you guys!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Starts off fun and cute. That's all I'm gonna say about it. **

**I own nothing.**

* * *

"Alright, let's sing another song," Ross said as he turned on a light to check something before turning it off a moment later. Laura shook her head, rolling her eyes at him.

They had been on the plane all of about twenty minutes and already Ross was bored. They managed to tear themselves away from their parents, just before they made their flight. Ellen had checked a million and one times to make sure Laura had what she needed and Stormie had cried a million and one tears it seemed. They had both assured their parents they would behave and even promised it, but Laura knew Ross and she also knew that he was a trouble maker just by nature, so that promise probably wouldn't last them long.

"What other possible song could you want to sing?" She looked around at the passengers. "They're going to throw us off the plane if we disturb them any longer."

"It's a good thing that seat next to you is empty." Ross said and Laura raised an eyebrow. "I mean that the invisible person there won't be too pissed off at us." He gave her his 'wtf' face and she laughed.

Ross began to strum an imaginary guitar, "Everyday-day-day, I fall for you a little more-oh-ore, and every night-night-night, I dream of you so beautiful-uh-ul." He grinned at her and she just rolled her eyes, the smile on her face as he sang. After a while, he grew bored of the song and noticed her hand was on the arm rest. He put his hand on top of hers, and she giggled, taking it away. They then played like that for a while until Ross grabbed it and intertwined their fingers.

"The plane hasn't even taken off yet and already we've done so much." Laura told him sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, you know." He responded, he pretended to pop his collar. "Its how we roll."

She shook her head and then stared straight ahead. He soon felt her hand shaking in his and looked at her.

"You okay?"

She nodded, "I'm just a little… uhm, scared?"

He squeezed her hand comfortingly, remembering that she had a fear of flying.

"Don't worry," He whispered, "I got you. I wont let anything happen to you."

"Thanks." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Anytime."

The flight attendant announced that they were ready for take-off and Laura's grip tightened. Ross tried not to let the pain show in his face, as he just leaned in closer and lay his head on her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not leaving, I told you." He informed her, then he smiled, "Plus you're a pretty comfy pillow, so…" He tightened his hold on her hand. "Don't let go."

"I won't." She promised.

The flight attendants did last minute checks to make sure everything was ready to go, and then the plane started moving. Laura's grip tightened and Ross could feel his circulation going. He wiggled his fingers, but she still held onto him tightly. He just decided to deal with it as the plane started to descend upwards.

"Hey." Ross said and she turned to him, "When the crowd wants more I bring on the thunder, cuz you got my back and and I'm not going under_…_" He gently knudged her to continue.

"You're my point you're my guard, you're the perfect chord and I see our names together on every billboard," She sang along, smiling at him. He felt her grip start to loosen.

"Headed for the top, got it on lock, we make 'em say 'hey!'" She laughed as he made an over gesture. "Cuz there's no stopping us when we hit the same but different, we're never gonna quit, and we'll keep rockin'!" He shook out his head and she laughed at his headbanging. "There's no way I could make it without ya, do it without ya, be here without ya, it's no fun when you're doing it solo, with you is like whoa, yeah and I know I own this dream cuz I've got you with me," She pointed at him and he smiled. "There's no way I could make it without ya, do it without ya, be here without ya!" They finished and Laura laughed falling against him as she did, she looked up at him a moment later.

"I can't believe we just sang the Austin&Ally theme song in a plane full of people."

"Yeah." He nodded, "But look out the window."

She did and her eyes widened once she realized they were in the air, a moment later the flight attendant came on and said they were high enough in the air and that they could turn on any electronics (other than phones of course) they had. She turned back towards Ross.

"You distracted me." She accused and he nodded.

"That I did."

"You're good, really good."

He grinned, "I know. Like I said, it's how I roll."

* * *

They landed in New York a few hours later. Laura was more okay with the landing part and didn't really need Ross to distract her. Since he was asleep anyways, it didn't really make a difference either way.

"So, we have to wait here for Sandra, right?" Laura asked and Ross nodded. "Cool, I'm going to call my mom really fast."

"I'm going to do this same," He replied, pulling up his mother's phone number.

Laura brought her phone up to her ear, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Vanessa." Laura said, "Just calling to check in, we're here. Safely landed and everything. Let mom know?"

"I will." Vanessa assured her. "Have fun, be safe." She teased.

Laura rolled her eyes, "Bye Vanessa." She hung up and walked over to Ross who had hung up the phone as well. A moment later, she saw someone waving in her direction and looked up to see it was Sandra. They both walked towards her and immediately she pushed them into the car that was waiting on the curb.

"Damn, pushy." Ross muttered to Laura who just nodded back.

"Hi, you two. How are you?" She asked, motioning for the driver to start moving.

"Fine, a little tired though." Ross admitted.

"I figured." Sandra sighed. "You two actually have today to just relax, but tomorrow you have press meetings and meet and greets for the whole day. At night you can relax if you want, but that wouldn't be until around eight or so."

Ross and Laura nodded.

"Good. I'll send a car to pick you up first thing tomorrow morning okay? I've noticed that you two are alone? Where are your mothers?"

"They trusted us to come by ourselves." Ross answered. "On the condition that we stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, I couldn't agree more." Sandra replied.

It was quiet the rest of the way other than making a little bit of small talk. They got to the hotel, Ross helping Laura out of the car. Sandra checked them into their separate rooms, made sure they were situated and then left them alone telling them not to do anything out of the norm for themselves to which they both just nodded and agreed to.

"Hey, Laura!" She lifted her head and was surprised to see that Ross was standing in her room.

"How did you—" He pointed behind him to a door that was in between both their rooms.

"Our rooms are connected, how cool is that?"

She smiled at his childlike behavior "Pretty damn cool." She agreed. He nodded and then walked over to sit on her bed. He looked around, "So, first night in New York, what do you want to do?"

She thought it over for a minute. "Rest for a bit? Then go get something to eat?" He agreed to that.

He was about to sit back when he remembered something, part of the reason why they were there in the first place. "Find any new information on where your father is?"

Laura nodded, she pulled out a piece of paper and walked over to him. She got in the bed curling her legs underneath her as she handed it over.

"I don't know where he lives exactly, but I called the number he left for my mother in the emails and found that it was at some sort of office. I pretended like I needed information and they gave me an address. All we have to do is find it and then we're good."

He nodded, "When do you want to go?"

She shrugged, "It's only like three here, maybe after dinner?"

He nodded. "Guess we could do that."

She smiled.

* * *

"This is it, huh?" Ross asked, as Laura looked at the address in her hand. She nodded.

"Yup," She nodded, "This is it." She walked inside the building and towards the far wall where she saw a bunch of names and suite numbers. She looked for the one she wanted, pointing it out to Ross. "Let's go."

They rode the elevator all the way up to the twentieth floor and then down the hall. They soon found the suite they were looking for and opened it. The lady at the front desk looked up, her mouth dropped open.

"You're—"

"Yeah," Laura nodded, she gave her a smile. "Nice to meet you…"

She held out her hand. "I'm Angela. My daughter is a huge fan of you two."

"Oh that's nice," Ross smiled.

"Do you want us to sign something for you? Special just for her?" Laura asked and Angela nodded.

"That would be amazing."

It wasn't what Laura really wanted to do at that moment, but she wasn't about to turn down a fan just because she was anxious to finally meet her father. Angela handed her a piece of paper and she signed it, giving it to Ross.

Angela thanked them, "So, what are you doing here for?"

"Work." Ross answered.

"I think she means why are we in this building." Laura said and he nodded.

"Totally not for work."

Laura smiled at him, rolling her eyes. She turned to Angela. "We're actually here to see Damiano, is he in?"

Angela nodded, "He is actually. He has a meeting in a little while, but I'm sure he could squeeze you in. May I ask what it's for?"

Laura looked at Ross and he just motioned for her to tell Angela the truth. She chickened out though.

"I'm just here to speak with him regarding… family." She answered, though it was vague it was still somewhat the truth.

"Alright, one second." Angela called for him and Laura just looked around. She noticed there were signs telling people to vote for him.

That was interesting.

The door opened and she turned at that moment to see a middle-aged man. He motioned for her to come in. She grabbed Ross' hand before he could protest and pulled him with her.

They walked down the hall and into a room. Laura noticed that he hadn't even greeted them.

"So." He said once the door was closed, motioning for the two of them to take a seat. "What are you two doing here?"

"I'm uhm…okay." Laura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before opening them again, looking at Ross. "I'm Laura and I'm here because… well, I'm—"

"My daughter." He finished and she looked at him, nodding her head.

"I know exactly who you are, I'm just surprised your mother let you come see me."

"Yeah that's the thing, she sort of doesn't know, I'm here right now," Laura told him and flashbacked to the night before, as she was getting ready for bed and her mother had actually talked about her father with her a little bit. She told her he wasn't who she thought he was and wasn't looking for a relationship with her. She wasn't sure if she believed that or not, but chose not to argue with her about it. Since Ellen didn't know she was planning on seeing him, she figured it wouldn't matter one way or the other.

"Oh, I see" Damiano nodded and Laura looked down. "So who's this?" He asked, and she snapped her head up as he motioned towards Ross. "Your boyfriend?"

"Best friend, actually. We're here doing promotion for our show…" She trailed off, "He came with me for support."

"He's a nice guy." Laura nodded.

"Well, listen I'm really glad you're here." Damiano told her and she smiled a bit.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm running for congressman as we speak and I could really use your help actually."

She knew she should've gone with her gut instinct which was don't listen to what he had to say, because she knew it wasn't going to be good. But she ignored it, as Ross put his hand on her wrist. He gave her a look, but she just shook her head.

"My help? How?"

"Well, you're pretty popular around New York, I figured you could—" That was it, that was what Ross was waiting for him to say. He tried to focus in on what he said next. "actually the both of you, could help me. If you were to make appearances, that could really help my voting averages."

"What?" Laura looked at him, "I can't do that, I mean, we can't. We're only here for a couple of days and—" That didn't make any sense to her at all. "You just want celebrity endorsement or whatever?"

He nodded, "it could really help, I mean, you're here for a reason aren't you?"

"I'm here because I wanted to meet my father, not to be his little puppet for show. And also, I wouldn't even let Ross do that, so no."

He pulled out his wallet, "I could pay you for it."

Ross' heart broke at the look on her face.

"Also, I'd like to keep it in between us, you know? I don't want the media to know I have a daughter, no one's aware of it and my wife wouldn't like it either."

That was it, Laura couldn't take it anymore.

"So, that's what I am to you?" Her tone was breaking as stared her father down. "I came here, looking for a relationship with a man I'd never met before. Just wanting to meet him because all I've dreamed of my whole life was having a father. But all you want to do is help yourself out? You would even go as low as to pay me off to keep my mouth shut? What kind of person are you?" She paused a moment, "mom was so right about you. You know what? I shouldn't have gone looking for you. I wish I'd never found out about you. No real father would pay off their celebrity daughter to help with their campaign. I hate you." Her tone was so cold by the end of it that it made Ross a little scared of her.

"I'm sorry, Laura but—"

"Fuck off." She glared at him, and then put her hand up. "I don't normally say that to adults, but you really deserve it. Don't contact me, don't try to find me. I want nothing to do with you." With that, she grabbed her coat and bag and stormed out of the room. Ross stayed behind a moment, noticing that he didn't even look sorry at all.

Since Laura had already said everything, he just shook his head and then followed after her. He caught up to her just as they got to where Angela was.

He vaguely heard her say something, but Laura was already out of the door before he could respond back. She stormed all the way to the elevator and when that took too long, just took the stairs. Ross soon caught up to her on the eighteenth floor, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around.

"What? Are you here to say it? Are you here to tell me that this whole thing was a mistake?" She asked him, her voice loud against the echoing staircase. "I should've listened to my mother, at least she was right about one thing. He's selfish. That's probably why she told me he was dead all these years. It makes sense now I guess." She shook her head and then continued on down the stairs

"Laura wait!" He yelled, grabbing her again. "Stop and talk to me."

"I just want to get out of here, I want to get as far away from here as I possibly can." She said, her tone breaking as she moved her head and pointed ahead of her. "This whole thing was a mistake, I should've known it would happen."

"But you didn't and it's not your fault." Ross told her. "It's okay to be mad, I get it, I'd be pissed off too."

"No." Laura shook her head. "You don't get it. You live in this perfect home with this perfect family. I get a shithead for a father and you get the nicest guy in the world."

Ross gave her a pained look, "it's not what you think it is, Laura." He shook his head for emphasis. "Not always."

"Your dad never tried to pay you off! He doesn't use you for his fame, he doesn't do anything!" Laura yelled at him. "Your dad supports you and helps you and is there for you."

"Yes, he does all of that, I agree. But he and I get into heated arguments all the time and they get pretty bad." He admitted. Laura's eyes widened. "It's not as perfect as you think it is."

Laura decided that she really didn't want to hear it, so she just threw her hands up, shaking her head. She opened the door to the floor they were on and then walked to the elevator. She didn't want Ross to see her cry. That was something, in that moment, that she really wanted to avoid him seeing.

"Laura, stop running away from me!" Ross snapped at her as soon as he caught up to her. "You've been doing it long enough." She wasn't sure what he meant by that exactly, if it was for the last few months or the last few minutes.

"You do realize I'm still mad at you right?"

"Get over it." He told her, "I'm over it."

"You just think it's that easy don't you?"

He knew he was just displacing her anger with her father on him. But he needed to get some sort of emotion out of her other than anger.

"It's not fucking easy, okay? I know what I did was wrong, but you can't be mad at me forever. In fact, the last few days it didn't seem like you were mad at me at all, not since we ditched to go see those sick children."

"I put it to the side because it was getting in the way of the show."

"Oh, that's it?"

She just stared him down.

"Give me a better excuse than that, please. The show has nothing to do with this, okay? I'm sorry that your father wasn't what you expected him to be. Most fathers aren't. Just be happy he's not an abusive asshole."

"What he did was inexcusable. His a fucking jerk!" She yelled at him as the elevator finally reached them. She got in it and he followed her, thankful it was empty. They rode down in silence together, until Ross stopped it from moving by pressing a 'stop car' button. She narrowed her eyes.

"We're not leaving until you talk to me. About everything."

"I have nothing to say."

"Bullshit, you _always _have something to say."

"Fuck you, Ross."

"Stop fighting me Laura, okay? We're best friends, don't shut me out."

"Ever think that maybe I don't want to talk about this?" She snapped at him, turning around to face him. "I don't want to talk about what went on in there because I don't want to think about it!"

"I wasn't talk about that." Ross answered, "I was talking about what happened with us."

"You know what happened with us, why do you want to talk about it?"

"You brought it up."

Laura gave him an angry stare. "Can you just drop it and leave me alone?"

"No, because you're still mad at me. I don't want you to be mad at me anymore, be mad at your father for all I care, I don't give a shit. But me, I don't want you to be upset with because I'm trying to help you."

She didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"Just get me out of here," She told him, her voice low. "I want to leave."

"No." His voice was firm.

"Ross let me out of here!" She yelled at him, but he didn't even flinch. She then started to get even more mad. "Let me out! Just leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you, I just want to leave!"

"No." He said again in the same tone.

"I hate you!" She shouted at him, her face was becoming red and she noticed that her lower lip was quivering, a sign she was going to break down at any moment.

"You cant tell that man that we just saw you hate him, I'm okay with that, because of what he did. But you—" He got closer to her, his face just an inch from hers. "You can never say you hate me, because you don't. I know you don't."

"You don't know me as well as you think you do." Her tone was steady.

"Yeah, I do."

"Shut up."

"Yeah, that's mature."

"What the problem Laura? Mad because your father's a dick and you can't replace him?"

Her eyes filled with tears.

He almost had her.

"Or upset because you can't replace me? You tried and tried to the last few months, but you just failed everytime. Doesn't make you feel good does it?"

"You're so mean." She whimpered. He knew he got the answer he wanted then.

"It's too bad you hate me, Laura." He said his tone was still firm, but it began to waver slightly as he didn't mean to hurt her feelings at all. "Because I love the hell out of you."

She stared at him, her lower lip quivering as he just stepped away from her and pressed the button for the elevator to move again. It was silent in between them until it opened. Laura didn't even look at him as she just stormed out of it. He followed after her.

She didn't even look back. She just kept walking and walking until he could no longer see her anymore.

* * *

Laura was pissed off. Pissed off that Ross had sort of figured her out. Sure she was displacing her anger with her father on him, but it didn't mean he had to be such an ass to get an answer out of her.

She had stormed away from him, wiping her tears away as she hailed a cab and then went straight to the hotel. She didn't give a crap on where Ross ended up. Just as long as he was okay in the end, she wasn't completely heartless.

Since her mother hadn't known that she'd gone to see her father, she didn't really have anyone to speak to about what had just gone down. Not even Ross was available, she realized.

So, knowing that she had to wake up pretty early the next morning, she just decided to go to sleep.

And for the first time since Ross had left for tour, she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

A loud banging noise and giggling woke her up. She looked at the clock and noticed it was about two in the morning. She heard the giggling again, but it turned to laughing and then it stopped.

She got up and walked to the doors that connected her and Ross' room, carefully opening it, she saw he was by himself, on his bed, laughing really hard. This confused her.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, "Why are you laughing so hard?"

He sat up from his bed and looked at her. "I was just thinking of how funny it is that you and I are best friends, you know, like Austin & Ally and yet we still hate each other."

Did he forget what he'd told her in the elevator?

She walked closer and noticed that he smelled pretty bad. Like a mixture of weed and alcohol.

"Have you been drinking?"

"No." He answered.

"Bullshit."

"Like you care."

That was low. He was the one that had been so pushy and mean to her, not the other way around.

He got up and walked passed her, but she stopped him.

"Did you mean what you said to me in the elevator?"

She knew that since he was drunk (and she could tell because he was barely able to stand and his breath smelled) he'd tell her the truth.

"What that I love you?"

She nodded.

"Yes, Laura, I love the shit out of you." He answered back. "Like that wasn't obvious already."

She suddenly didn't want to be there, so she let go of him and walked back towards the door to her room.

"There you go." He said his tone nonchalant, "Running away again."

"I'm not running away—"

"Bullshit." He snapped. "Anytime I say something nice to you, you just run off or don't even respond to it. Well, how is that gonna work if you want to have a real relationship?"

"Why are you drunk?" She asked him instead, "Didn't you and I make a promise to Kevin that we wouldn't get drunk again? Do you even care? Oh, no wait, you're Ross, you don't care about anybody but yourself!"

"Don't ignore me!" He yelled at her.

"I can't believe I ever even became friends with you again, you're so… so… _immature_!"

"And you're a bitch!" He yelled at her, "You think you have all the problems don't you? Just because I did something so horrible to you? What about me huh? What about the image that I have to portray to the rest of the world? Just like you I have to be the nice, squeaky clean role model. Well, guess what? I don't want to be that anymore, okay? I don't even…"

"What, Ross, what don't you want?"

He paused, before Laura gave him a look and a gesture to continue.

"I don't want to do the show anymore," He finally said, his tone quieter.

It was silent after that.

"Okay." Laura looked away. Without another word, she left the room, the door to hers slamming behind her as she locked it and went to go sit on her bed.

Ross realized what happened and then banged on the door.

But she didn't answer.

And he knew, she wouldn't. No matter what he said or did, she wasn't going to answer him.

All because he'd said something he shouldn't have in the heat of the moment. Twice.

* * *

**So, tell me what you honestly think of this. Some feelings were admitted, some ignored. It's not over yet, in fact, it's just starting. Now that Laura's met her father, what's her mother's reaction going to be like? Is she ever going to tell Ross how she feels? Will what they've been hiding be revealed? **

**Answer is yes. But not for a few more chapters. I hope you liked it, really I do. I was just feeling particularly moody so that's why they fight for so long, so sorry about that, but I realized it was needed. It needed to be said, so there it was. They can't hold their feelings/emotions back forever.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here it is. Eleven chapters later and you finally find out the big secret. **

**So much out of character-ness in this chapter. I'm aware of it. But this I've had written for a while, and I couldn't _wait _to post it. So, enjoy, tell me what you think. Honest truth, I know they're complicated, but they have to be. It's how they work. I feel like it's the same way in reality, but that's just me.**

* * *

Laura was crying into her pillow, her whole body anxious as she stared at the clock. It was now four in the morning, two hours since she last saw Ross. He had stopped trying to get her to answer him about an hour and a half ago. Since he was drunk, she figured he had passed out.

Normally, she would go and check on him to make sure he was okay, but she really didn't want to see or talk to him.

She had to be up in two hours and she hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

Well, good for Ross, she thought. At least he got the sleep he needed and was going to be fine for their busy day.

She lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of the last few hours and then she stood up. She stumbled into the bathroom and found her toiletry bag. She pulled out a pill bottle and poured two of them into her hands. She wasn't supposed to take them yet, but whatever. One time earlier than normal wasn't going to hurt her, she figured. So she swallowed them back with some water and then went to go lay back down.

Pretty soon, the pills worked and she fell fast asleep.

* * *

It was no surprise to her when Ross had shown up ten minutes late to an interview they were having with MTV. He had stumbled into the studio, dark circles under his eyes and his hair messed up. He didn't even look at her as he sat down beside her and she didn't look back at him.

They went through the interview with no problem, the unspoken agreement to just act like they were okay in front of the cameras as they had made a promise to their parents to behave.

After it was over, they had barely time to think, before they were put into a car and taken to the next venue.

They did the meet and greet fine with no problems, Ross having to leave a few times for a few minutes at a time. She didn't really want to think about why, though each time he came back, he seemed to be in better spirits.

After the meet and greet was over, they had a couple more interviews and then they were finished.

Laura really couldn't wait to be alone again.

* * *

Ross had disappeared again and Laura was starting to get concerned. In the middle of a question, he had excused himself and got up. The interviewer motioned for her to go check on him and she did, finding him outside leaning against a wall and holding his head as he slid down it, his elbows on his knees as he just held his hand. She walked closer and noticed that just a few feet away, was something she could only imagine was vomit on the ground. Ross' vomit.

Sighing, she sat down beside him and lay her head on his shoulder, much to his surprise. He lifted his head and looked at her confused as she lifted her head to look at him.

"Why did you get drunk?" She asked, "and where on earth did you get the alcohol from?"

"I crashed a party." He answered, "Sort of, I have a friend who lives out here and I called them up. They were having a party so I went…" He trailed off, looking away. "As for why, I don't really have an answer for you."

"Well, you've been hungover and puking on and off all day, so there has to be a reason." She didn't mean to sound so condescending, but it happened, she couldn't take it back.

"Why do you care?" He asked her emotionlessly. "You're pissed off with me, as usual."

"Sorry, Ross. But even when I'm really, really mad at you, I still care. I came to check on you because I was starting to get worried. But if you're going to be an ass about it, then there was no point, at least I know you're okay and that's good enough for me."

He stared at her, his eyes searching hers for a moment, silently.

But not even two minutes later, he broke out of his trance and ripped his eyes away from her. He didn't say anything as he got up and walked away from her. She didn't want to go after him. He didn't deserve her to this time.

So, after a few minutes, she got up and followed him, going back in to finish an interview that was the last thing on her mind. She could tell, with a sneaky glance towards Ross, that she wasn't the only one.

* * *

New York hadn't been much fun so far, she realized. Other than the night before after they had landed and the amazing sushi she and Ross went to get, the whole trip had been pretty shitty.

Her father didn't give two shits about her.

And she and Ross weren't speaking to each other. Again.

Luckily, they had a red eye they were catching that night as at the last minute, Disney decided to cut their visit short so that they could come back and shoot more episodes. Something about Austin&Ally getting more episodes this season.

As she packed, she let out a sigh, zipping up the suitcase she sat down on the bed and looked out of the window at the rainy night sky. The rain drops pelted the window and suddenly, all she wanted to do was go outside.

But she didn't want to go alone.

So she opened the door to her room and then opened the one to Ross', which to her surprise was still open. She walked into find him zipping up his duffel bag and without warning, grabbed his hand.

He looked at her surprised.

"This whole trip has been pretty shitty." She said almost in a way of explanation. "We need one good memory, so bring your phone." She said and he nodded, as she pulled him out of her room. She let go of him as they got to the elevator and they waited silently.

The elevator soon came and then Laura led Ross outside. She kept walking until she was directly under the rain and she motioned for him to join her. She spread her arms out and spun around, smiling a sad smile as she danced around in the rain.

Ross had been silent watching her amused. She grabbed his hands and pulled her with him dancing around and having a good time.

"You're still pretty bad at that," He said as she spun around again and stumbled. He ran over to her and caught her, her hands on his arms, holding her steady as she stood back up again.

"Maybe doing this in heels wasn't such a good idea."

Ross nodded, "I'd say, but…" He gave her a grin and bumped his ass into hers, causing her to almost fall. She glared at him and he grabbed both her hands, spinning her around.

"Ahh!" She squealed the rain starting to fall harder. He then stopped, pulling her into him, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held his phone out in front of him, snapping a picture of the two of them, soaking wet and smiling. "Send that to me," She told him as they walked back inside the building. Ross had seen the time just after the picture was taken and reminded her that they had a plane to catch in a couple hours. She didn't want to leave, but knew she didn't have a choice.

She had felt so carefree, like nothing was wrong; like she wasn't mad at Ross and it felt great.

They both quickly ran upstairs, changed and then ran back down, checking out, they grabbed their things and then walked out to hail a cab. It was quiet as they rode all the way to the airport.

They sat on the plane and almost immediately, she fell asleep the exhaustion from the night and day taking over body and consuming her.

* * *

It had been a few days since Ross had _really _spoken to Laura. Other than work, they hadn't seen each other much since she was busy with her schoolwork and he had to do some promotion for the band.

It hurt his heart a bit to know that she had completely ignored what he'd said to her and acted like everything was totally fine between them. Luckily, no one seemed to notice they were hardly speaking, blaming it on their busy work schedules.

He knew she was upset with not only telling her he didn't to do Austin&Ally anymore, but by what happened with her father.

He didn't blame her really, but she wasn't the only one in pain.

But sometimes, Laura was as clueless as Dez could be sometimes about certain things. Either that, or she just chose to ignore issues when they existed. Whatever it was, it was making him want to punch a hole in the wall.

She was so intoxicating, frustrating and stubborn, but he couldn't help but feel the way he did about her because while she was all those things, she was still adorkable, sweet and caring.

Totally a contradiction in a way, but all very true.

* * *

Ross sighed, sitting back on the couch as he turned on the TV settling on a late night showing of _The Breakfast Club_. One of Laura's favorite movies, he mentally noted. He laid on the couch, his feet on the other end as he just looked through his twitter account, reading a few random tweets sent to him by random people, when to his surprise, his phone vibrated in his hand.

_Hiiiii whut r u doiwin? _

He raised an eyebrow and sat up as he read the text from Laura, furrowing his eyebrows in concern a moment later. Why the hell was she up so late?

_I'm watching a movie. What are you doing and why are you typing like that? _

It wasn't like her to not use correct grammar. Usually she was on point, but for some reason, she just didn't give a shit and the text said that. He was surprised she had texted him, they hadn't spoken to each other in almost three weeks unless they had to.

_I don't knowwwww. Haha, the word stretches outttttt like that one. I can't c what I'm typing right nw my eys are clozed. _

Yup, there was officially something up with her.

_Where are you? _

He bit his lip as he waited for a response it came about five minutes later, the longest five minutes of his life.

_At a partieeeee! My fwriends house. She gave meee something to dink and now I feel soo funny, funny and freeee! _

Oh god. He realized as his stomach dropped. Laura was _drunk_.

_Send me the address, I'll come pick you up. _

He stood up, forgetting about the movie, and grabbed his keys, hoping his mother didn't get mad at him for leaving so late at night. Though he was sure she'd understand when he explained the situation.

_Wouldn't you lykeee to know where I is! _

_I mean ammmm! Am, yeah. _

He rolled his eyes.

_Laura, tell me. Now. _

He could see her rolling her own eyes at his message, but he knew how easily she gave in. He knew it wouldn't take much to get her to reply back to him with the address.

His phone vibrated in his hand and he lifted it up to see it lit up with the address.

Then the message underneath it.

_There you have it you asshole. _

Thanks Laura, so much. He thought sarcastically and without another thought was out of the door and in his car in seconds, on his way to pick up his very drunk and obviously emotionally fucked up costar. He didn't really blame her for being messed up with all that had happened recently but the way she was dealing with it, definitely wasn't the way to go. He didn't like that she was going down that route since it was so unlike her.

He could say the same thing about himself, he realized.

Though he did make sure to send her a message before driving off. He didn't want her to think he was blowing her off, after all.

_I'm on my way. _

* * *

"Oh no!" Laura laughed as her friend, Ben handed her a red cup. "I can't drink anymore, I'm already… already…I'm not… drunk." Her eyes drooped and she hiccuped.

"Come on, Marano, live a little bit."

She gave him the finger and then laughed at his shocked expression, before tapping her finger against his chest, and pulling him towards her a bit. "You know what's so… so messed up?" She ran her fingers through her hair and goofily smiled at him.

"What?"

"It's a secret so you have to come closer to me." He nodded and did as she asked, when she put her hands on his shoulders and leaned up on her tiptoes. Even in her ridiculously high heels, she was still so much shorter than him. Ross probably too, she thought.

She giggled against his ear, ignoring that he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her so close, a sheet of paper could barely fit in between them.

"Just tell me," He smiled amusedly at her.

"You—you know how everyone thinks I'm a virgin?" He pulled away and looked at her in shock, she burst out giggling, but soon collected herself. "Guess what?" She whispered, leaning in again. He shrugged. "I'm not!"

He looked shocked, but soon he smiled at her. "You're not?" She shook her head. "Who'd you fuck?"

"I'm not… I won't… tell you, that." She lazily tapped her finger against him. "That's my secret." Her eyes widened, "But you can't tell anyone what I just told you now!"

"Don't worry…" He smirked, "Your secret is safe with me." She was too drunk to see the twinkle in his eye when he'd said that.

"Oh, good."

"On one condition," He stated and she looked up at him. "You have to spend the night with me."

She quickly shook her head. "No, no. I don't want to, no. Because then I would be…" She snapped her fingers before realizing the words. "I'll be a slut."

"How many guys have you slept with?"

She actually had to think, "One." She answered, "But it was half a year ago." She swallowed hard.

"You're not a slut, promise." He assured her, taking her hand in his, he stepped back, before smiling at her and pulling her up the stairs with him. "Come on, it'll be fun."

She was too drunk at that point to stop anything from happening. So she just let him pull her with him and just as they got to the top of the stairs, she heard her name, loud and clear and turned around to see that Ross was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Holy shit.

* * *

Ross' nose wrinkled in disgust as soon as he'd entered the house. It smelled straight up of booze, weed and possibly sex, he wasn't really sure. Though the two going at it in the corner of the room sure indicated that some shit was sure going on.

Looking around the house for a moment, he wondered why the hell Laura was even there. It didn't even seem like her scene, none of it did.

"Oh my god, are you Ross Lynch?" A girl asked him, and he looked at her with his famous 'wtf' look he knew Laura loved a lot.

Usually they were reserved for her and her alone, but this girl was really making him think it.

"No, I'm his twin brother, Drew."

"Wait, I didn't know Ross Lynch had a twin." The girl gasped and he mentally face-palmed.

"Alright, well, I gotta go… nice seeing you or meeting you or whatever." He waved her off and looked up just in time to see Laura's familiar ombre'd curls. He watched as she was taken by the hand and let up the stairs, before he yelled her name and ran to the bottom, where he saw her spin around.

"Ross?" She gasped, dropping whomever's hand she was holding. "Why are you here?"

"You told me where you'd be…" He trailed off.

Then to his surprise, she smiled.

"Yo, yo! Ross!" She stumbled down the stairs and once she reached two steps above him, she tripped and fell forward. Ross effortlessly caught her, stumbling a bit, but he still managed to put her feet on the ground safely. She still kept her arms around his neck, he noted. She pulled away a bit and smiled, "You should come meet my new friend, Ben!"

"Actually we go to school together, you know me. We're in the same history class." He told her, standing behind her. "And we were about to go upstairs, so if you'll excuse us—"

"Oh my god. It's Austin and Ally!" Some random girl squealed. "They're actually here in my house, oh my god. Laura I knew you were coming but I didn't know he was and oh my god. So many feels!"

Alright he'd had enough. Laura's arms still around him he turned towards the girl, holding Laura by her waist so that she wouldn't fall and eat shit. He closed his eyes a moment, taking a deep breath before opening them and looking at her.

"Could you maybe not say that so loudly?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have come to my party then." She walked closer to him, pushing Laura away from him. She stumbled, but he caught her wrist, and helped her stand up. All without looking at her. Her other arm was then tugged and Ross let go, as the girl who's name he didn't know put her arm around his neck. She smirked. "You're so hot in person."

"Yeah, thanks. Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm just here to get Laura and leave so if you'll excuse me—" She ran her fingers through his hair, an action he _normally _would've liked (if the right girl was doing it), but it only irritated him more.

"Get off him you bitch!" He heard and then the girl was on the ground. His mouth dropped open as he saw Laura pulling the girl's hair.

"Laura, whoa!" He quickly pulled her away. "What's gotten into you?" He asked, his arms tightly around her waist as she struggled against him.

"She's such a bitch! Let me go!" She yelled but he did something he knew would calm her down. Still with one arm around her waist, he reached up with his other hand and played with her curls. It immediately calmed her and the girl who was on the floor glared at her in disgust as Laura stopped struggling against him.

"Ugh!" She stood up. "You're such a…such a…"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you," Ross snapped at her. Laura's eyes were closed as she turned around and faced him, her hands on his shoulders.

He stopped playing with her hair and looked at her. She opened her eyes a moment later, about to say something when her wrist was tugged and she was a few feet away from him again.

"Come on, you promised you'd stay the night with me." Ben reminded her. Her eyes widened and she looked helplessly at Ross who saw in her eyes that it wasn't what she wanted to do.

"Dude, let her go." He spoke politely. "She isn't interested."

"She was like twenty minutes ago, before you got here."

"Yeah, well now she's not." He said, "I'm asking once, please just let her go."

Ben looked like he was thinking it over before shaking his head, "Nah, she's coming with me."

"Dude, seriously." Ross threatened, getting closer to him.

"Fuck off." He spat back, his spit literally hitting Ross' face.

Laura was really lucky she was someone he'd do anything for no matter what. Because what he was about to do, would probably fuck up his career. He stared at Ben for about a second before bringing his hand back and slamming it against his nose, causing him to drop Laura, who fell down the stairs. Ross helped her up and put her behind him as Ben yelped in pain and then started to hit him, but Ross was too fast. He flipped him and he fell to the ground in pain, as Ross then grabbed Laura and quickly ran out of the house.

"You asshole! Bitch, don't forget I know your secret!" He screamed at her in pain from the floor, but Ross ignored him, as Laura looked at him in fear.

"You got your stuff?" He asked her and she nodded. "Good, we're out of here." She had seemed to snap out of her shock or something because a moment later, she ripped her wrist away from his hold and stumbled back, but was able to catch herself before she hit the ground.

"No!" She yelled at him and he raised an eyebrow. "You can't be the superhero! Not now! Not when I'm supposed to be so mad at you!"

He rolled his eyes, "Laura, just come with me. I want to get you home safely."

"No, you cant save me and expect me to be nice to you."

"Fine, whatever. I really don't care. Just get in the damn car." He opened the door and motioned with his hand to go inside. She glared at him and he gave her the 'wtf' look. "Laura don't be so stubborn, just get inside."

"Fine." She said a moment later, "But only because I _want _to."

"Yeah, yeah whatever." He muttered as she sat in the passengers seat and he slammed the door. He got in the driver's seat and started it, speeding away from the curb, he looked at her to see her eyes were drooping and she was falling asleep. "No, stay awake until we get you home."

She rolled her head to face him and he noticed at that moment just how drunk she was. "I can't go home," She whispered, her voice cracking.

"Well, then what am I supposed to—" He realized then that he could just take her to his house and nodded. "Fine, I wont take you home."

"My mom would kill me. And my sister too probably, I can't go home."

"I know."

She grabbed her head then and moaned in pain. "My head hurts."

"Yeah, well, you kinda had a lot to drink and kicked a girl's ass, which by the way we're gonna talk about later."

"Whatever."

He just took a deep breath and stared straight ahead at the road in front of him. It was going to be a _long _drive.

* * *

"Shh!" He whispered as Laura fell against him and giggled as he opened the front door and closed it behind him. He locked it, barely catching her as she was about to fall forward. "Dude!"

"Dude!" She mimicked, tapping his nose. "Boop!" She said and laughed.

He rolled his eyes, "Be quiet, Laura." He whispered, getting close to her ear. "You're gonna wake my parents or brothers and sister up."

"Oh yeah, your family is actually home! That's so cool." She waved her arms in the air as he tried to get her up the stairs.

"Stop being difficult and help me get you up stairs," He whispered.

She giggled and fell on the stairs, her hair covering her face as he just let out a grunt and picked her up, her arm going around his neck as he held her bridal style. At least it was simple because she was so light. She looked right at him as he walked her to the top. Then without warning, she kissed his cheek. He tried not to turn pink when she moved away, hoping to god he didn't.

They finally got to his room and he put her down, turning on the lights and thanking god that Ryland wasn't home that night. It didn't look like he'd be coming back anyways, another thank you to god. He closed the door and locked it, just as Laura fell against it. She giggled more and he rolled his eyes as she slid down the door.

"Why are you even drunk?" He asked her, kneeling down beside her. He put his hand on her knee and her giggling stopped, replaced with a more serious stare. "It's so out of character for you." He blinked, "Actually it's out of character for _your character _to be drunk. What the hell is going on Laura?"

She shrugged.

"Great answer, thanks for sharing." He sarcastically told her as he began to stand up. But a hand on top of his stopped him. "I thought we promised not to drink again."

"You are such a hypocrite! You got drunk in New York, remember?"

He didn't say anything, just clenched his jaw in anger, which she noticed. Suddenly, she started to feel guilty, her usual self creeping out when someone was upset with her.

"Don't be mad at me." She whispered.

"I'm not, just worried." He answered truthfully. He then sighed, his hand wrapping around hers, he helped her up, and pulled her slightly only for her to fall against him, her cheek pressed against his chest. "How much did you have to drink exactly?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I think like six cups of beer and vodka and some brown stuff."

"Whiskey?"

"Yeah! That's what it was!" She snapped her finger in his direction, looking up at him. Even though she was drunk, he couldn't help but think how adorable she looked, resembling a kitten or something cute like that. He swallowed hard and moved away, gently sitting her on his bed.

He helped her take off her heels. "Do you want to change into something more comfortable?" He asked her and she bit her lip, nodding. "Think you can do it yourself?" She shook her head. "Well, you're gonna have to."

He turned around then pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. He handed them both to her.

"You do it." She whispered. He looked at her a shocked look on his face.

"What?"

"You heard me. Do it, I dare you." She hiccupped and covered her mouth, embarrassed.

He rolled his eyes. "Why can't you do it?"

"I'm too drunk."

"Doesn't sound like it to me."

"You've seen me before," She said softly. "I don't care, just please help me. I can't unzip my dress by myself and I can't take my bra off by myself."

"That part you _can _do." He ignored her glare and then went on his bed behind her, he unzipped her dress all the way, it slipping off her shoulders, his fingers lightly tapping her skin and she tried to ignore the tingling sensation that she felt go down her body.

He let his hand trail all the way down her arms until the dress pooled at her waist. She stood up and turned towards him, it falling all the way down to her feet. He stared at her for a moment, before he cleared his throat.

"Pretty sure you can handle the rest."

He tried to get off the bed, but she leaned forward, her forehead against his, both her hands on either side of him, trapping him.

He was so damn confused. And he wanted to talk to her and clear everything up, but of course at that moment, he couldn't. Especially since she was drunk and doing things that were totally out of character for her to do.

"Help me." She said in a no nonsense voice. "I can't do it on my own."

"Why are you…" He moved his head and looked at her. "You hate me, don't you?"

"I don't hate you, I'm just mad at you."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"No, because I like being around you." His eyebrows went up at that revelation. Just the week before she told him she wanted nothing more to do with him.

She pushed him all the way back until he was lying on his back on the bed and then straddled his waist, her hands going to his chest as she leaned forward.

"Come on, you and I we—"

"I don't… you said we would never talk about that." He cut her off.

"Yeah, but I changed my mind." She shrugged.

"Look, Laura…" She shushed him by putting her finger on his lips.

He then watched her eyes as it moved from his eyes to her lips.

"I know you want this just as badly as I do…" She whispered, her voice husky as she leaned closer. He tried to breathe, but found it was a bit diffucult as her familiar scent mixed with the stench of alcohol hit his nostrils. She was intoxicating, _still, _and he wanted nothing more than to have his way with her, but he knew it was wrong. So, so wrong. Especially because she was wasted. "Remember, you told me you _love _me."

He didn't know what to do at that point. She was drunk. He didn't want to take advantage of her, so the romantic in him made him do that right thing. If he was going to kiss her, he at least wanted them both to be sober when it finally happened.

So at the last minute, he turned his head and her lips met his cheek. She gasped and moved away. He sat up quickly and she moved down his legs more.

"We can't." He repeated, his voice sounding pained. "You're drunk and it's just not right."

"But I thought…" She trailed off, still surprised.

"Well, guess what Laura, you thought wrong." He snapped and then gently sat her down beside him as he got up and walked towards the door. "Get dressed, I'm gonna go change." With that, he opened the door and closed it, leaving a shocked and hurt Laura behind him.

* * *

When he got back into his room, he was surprised to see she was still only half dressed. His hoodie was on her, but it was left open. Her legs were pulled up and she was curled into a ball. He stepped closer, surprised to find she was crying.

He sighed and lay down on the bed, leaning over her. "Laura…"

"Don't." She whispered, her voice sounding strange. "Just leave me alone."

"You have to understand something first," He put his hand on her shoulder, happy when she didn't move it off immediately. "I didn't reject you to make you feel like shit. You're drunk. That'd be like taking advantage of you or something. I don't want that."

He paused and she still didn't say anything. All he heard were her sniffles.

"I'm sorry." He whispered a moment later, and then laid back, his eyes moving to stare at he ceiling.

He closed his eyes and just tried to go to sleep. He was about to drift off when…

"I'm sorry too." He heard and his eyes snapped open, he turned his head slightly to see that Laura's back was still facing him, but she turned around a moment later, so that her face was just inches from his. "I'm sorry I'm like this."

"It's… okay." He answered a moment later, shrugging. "Shit happens."

"I'm also sorry that you saw me like this."

He didn't say anything.

"I'm just… I'm sorry, okay?" She whispered a moment later, her hand touched his cheek and she gently rubbed it with her thumb. Then all too soon, she dropped her hand and turned around, facing the wall again. He didn't say anything, so she just closed her eyes and tried to calm down.

She felt the bed shift, and then his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him, he just held her against him, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Just so you know…" He whispered into her hair. "I don't think you're a bad person. This doesn't change anything, in fact, it makes you more badass if you want me to be honest. With the way you kicked that girl's ass." He heard her laugh slightly.

She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut, so that he wouldn't hear her crying, tears of joy or sadness, she wasn't completely sure.

"I still think you're amazing." He whispered and then his softly kissed the side of her head, before moving away. He still kept his arms around her though, and if possible held her even closer. "I'll always think you're amazing, no matter what."

She went to sleep that night with a small smile on her face.

* * *

Ryland came home, early the next morning, eager to get into his room and get some clothes to change into so he could shower and get ready for the day. He immediately went to his room and twisted the knob, only to find it was locked.

"Whoa, what the…" He tried again, but nothing changed. He heard footsteps and turned around to see Riker was behind him.

"Dude, why are you trying to break into your own room?"

"I'm not…" He said slowly. "I just can't get the door open."

"Maybe it's stuck, here, let me try." Riker tried to lock, but nothing happened. "Wow, it really must be locked."

"Well, Ross is in there, I'm sure, let's just wake him up and—"

"Guys." They heard behind them and turned around to see Rydel was there, her mouth in a thin line as she held a magazine towards them. She didn't look too happy.

"What?" Both her brothers answered, Riker taking the magazine from her.

"Holy shit." He said and Rydel nodded.

Ryland looked over his shoulder, "What the…"

"Yeah, I was at the supermarket with mom earlier this morning. She's not too happy about this either."

"I imagine she's not," Riker responded sarcastically. "But why? How would anyone know about this? It's not like it's common knowledge, I mean, seems pretty private to me."

"Guess it's not anymore." Rydel shrugged.

Ryland knew there was only one person who would know the answer to their questions, so he spun around and started knocking on the door. "Ross, wake up and get your ass out here! There's kind of an emergency!"

He looked behind him at his siblings and when he didn't receive an immediate answer, Riker and Rydel joined him, knocking and shouting hopefully loud enough that they would be able to wake up their superstar brother.

* * *

Ross woke up, his eyes drowsy as he opened them, realizing that Laura was still in his bed, her arms on top of his, all cuddled against his chest. He smiled a bit, but it soon disappeared when he heard loud shouts of his name and knocking.

Groaning, he sleepily moved away from Laura and rubbed his head, going over to the door. Throwing it open, he saw three of siblings all on the other side, shocked looks on their faces, before they realized he had answered.

Rydel didn't look too happy though, he noticed.

"Dude, what the hell? Why is the door locked?" Ryland demanded pushing passed him.

"No wait—" Ross covered his face as Ryland let out a yell and Laura sat up suddenly. Her hair was a mess and his hoodie was still open, exposing her bra and panties to everyone as she hurriedly tried to cover herself up. "It's not what it looks like guys, trust me."

"Oh, really?" Rydel demanded, stepping into the room. She grabbed the magazine from Riker and threw it at him, Ross barely catching it, before looking at the title, his eyes wide. "Is it _really _not what it looks like?"

"Oh fuck." He said, running his fingers through his hair and switching his eyes in between the magazine and the girl on his bed who was smoothing out her hair and looking anywhere but where his siblings were.

"Care to explain what's going on here?" Another voice was added into the group and Ross face palmed as Laura's face turned red. His mom walked into the room, angrily looking in between Ross and Laura. "Ross?" She asked impatiently.

"Wait, what is going on here?" Ryland spoke up. "I thought she hated you."

Stormie's eyes widened, "What?"

"Long story." Ross muttered.

"I've got time."

"I should uhm… I should get going, sorry to uhm… yeah." Laura quickly grabbed her heels and her dress, grabbing her phone, keys and wallet on the way out on Ross' desk. She was just about to step outside when a hand stopped her. She looked down to see there were pants with it, and she gratefully took it from Ross. "Uhm, bye." She said quietly and he nodded.

"Bye." He whispered as she quickly left the room.

"Okay, try to explain what's happening here," Rocky walked into the room. "Laura just ran out of here like her ass was on fire pantsless, and Ross is shirtless, what's going on?"

"Ross was just about to explain himself," Stormie spoke sternly. Rocky however, saw the look on Ross' face and turned towards his mother.

"Mom, can we have a moment?" He gestured towards everyone else. "We uh, we got this." He didn't miss the small smile on Ross' face.

Stormie didn't look like she was willing to leave, but she reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but I want to know what this is all about and soon, Ross."

Ross nodded and she left the room, the door closing behind her.

"Well? Go for it." Rydel glared at him, "Start talking."

"Start with why Laura hated you, maybe that's a good idea." Ryland put in.

Ross sighed and sat down on his desk chair, running his fingers through his hair a moment, he let his head hang in his hands a moment, before looking up at his siblings.

"Or maybe start with if what this headline says is true," Riker suggested, giving him the magazine. He still couldn't believe it.

At the top it said, '_Austin and Ally star, Laura Marano admits that she's not a virgin anymore_.' He took a moment and opened it to see an article, a picture of her drinking and then he was there, beating up Ben's ass. His eyes read the second paragraph. '_Ross Lynch showed up at a party that Laura had attended, an inside source tells us. He had walked in soon after she admitted she wasn't a virgin which raised flags, wondering if he was the one who she lost her virginity to. Another source says Laura was completely wasted and had punched a girl for hitting on Ross. Ross also got in a fight, which also makes us wonder if they had something going on in private. We're not sure, but we'll keep you in on the juicy deets once we find them out!' _

Shit, he thought. Shit, shit, shit. He needed to talk to Laura and _fast. _

"Ross?" His sister tried again. "Is this true?"

"Define what you want to know." He answered back.

"Did something happen in between you and Laura?" Rydel clarified and though it wasn't something he really wanted to talk about with his siblings he took a moment and then slowly nodded his head. He most definitely wasn't ready to.

"Yeah," He responded quietly a moment later. "Something happened between us a few months ago, that's true. All of it is. Laura drunk texted me last night and I went to the party to get her. Some guy was trying to take advantage of her so I punched him to get him to let her go. Before that, a girl was hitting on me and she got pissed off and got into a cat fight. After my fight though, I took her out to my car, intending to take her home, but she said she couldn't go there yet, so we came back here and crashed. We didn't have sex or anything, I promise that's all that happened. I swear."

"Alright." Rydel pursed her lips, "Alright so then why does she hate you so much then?"

"Because…" He trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Right before we left for tour, you know at the wrap party, she and I went off somewhere. We kinda had a moment and I kissed her and she kissed me. Then…I told her we were going on tour and she said she wanted just one night with me before I had to leave the next day. I woke up with her the next morning and we got into a huge fight. I left and we didn't talk at all for the six months I was away."

"Well, that makes sense, why she was so indifferent towards you at the Teen Choice Awards." Rydel nodded. "But it still doesn't explain too much."

"I thought it was pretty obvious and straight forward." Ross looked away again. "She was mad because I left, but that wasn't the whole reason."

"Then what was?" Rocky asked.

He honestly didn't really know how to say it. The whole thing was so messed up, how it was announced to the world, how everyone had found out. He could only imagine the messages from twitter and his friends he was getting at that moment.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and just blurted it out, not meeting anyone's eyes as he did.

"We had sex."

* * *

**Boom. Thoughts?**

**Also, I'm thinking about putting a flashback chapter, but that would mean I have to change the rating. Would you be cool with that or should I just skip it and leave it be? **


	12. Chapter 12

**Here it is.**

**The official flashback chapter of the story.**

**I was kind of hesitant to post this, but I got about twenty reviews saying I should. _Holy shit_. Anyway, I rewrote this and rewrote this and decided to cut out the scene. It wasn't really what was most important in what happened to them, though it did play a huge part in it. Maybe I'll put a scene in later, or something. We'll see. Thank you guys so much for your reviews and everything! I'm glad you like this story so much.**

**Enjoy this chapter. If nothing makes sense, let me know. But it'll all make sense the next chapter. Promise.**

* * *

Laura laughed as she stumbled out of the door, Ross behind her. He managed to catch her around her waist, and hold her against him as she continued to giggle some more.

"I can't believe Calum, he's such a goof." She giggled some more, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yeah, he can tell good jokes and all, but he's not as fearless as Dez apparently." Ross agreed and then smiled, leaning his forehead against hers. His eyes then moved upwards so he could look past her and he saw an open door. "Come with me." He said and she tilted her head to the side. "You can trust me," He told her, moving away from her, he took her hand and pulled her with him toward the open door.

"Ross," Laura tried to keep up with him, but it was hard, since she was wearing heels and he was also about five or six feet taller than her. "What are you—" She was cut off when he turned around, stopping her in place.

"You're so.. amazing," He told her, swallowing nervously as he just stared at her in the dim light of the room they were in. "I don't think I tell you that enough."

She looked at him strangely, wondering where all of this had come from. He seemed to notice the look she gave him and suddenly he wasn't the smooth guy he normally was. Her face softened as she realized what he was doing.

She took his hand in hers and looked up at him a smile on her face.

"S-sorry." He mumbled, looking away. She put her other hand on his cheek, turning him to face her.

"Don't be sorry." She whispered, "You have nothing to be sorry for. I know how hard it is for you to… show your emotions and your feelings."

That seemed to bring up his confidence.

"Laura, I really, really like you." He managed to say after a few moments of silence. She smiled at him, "And I know we're on a tv show and I know that we're not supposed to feel this way because we're actors, but…"

"I like you too," She whispered and he breathed out a noticeable sigh of relief. "Everything about you…" She trailed her finger along his jaw, "you're perfect." She whispered.

He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment since he had just stared at her, but then he smiled and put his hands on her waist, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Would it be overly cheesy of me to ask you if I could have this dance?"

"There's no music playing." He shrugged. "Oh right, you don't care about those kinds of things." She joked, remembering when they had to practice slow dancing together for an episode and he didn't want the music playing until they had both gotten it right.

"Remember what we learned?" He asked her and she nodded, her arms going around his neck. Though they had done it a bit differently, alone, they had come up with the way they were doing at that moment.

They both started to slowly move together and Laura smiled as she thought of something, "You're not going to like drop me or fall and hurt your ankle or anything like that, are you?"

"No." He smiled back at her, pulled her closer, "I won't." He took one of his hands off of her waist, and then grabbed one of hers that were around his neck, holding her hand tightly in his; he brought them down, intertwining their fingers as he did. Then he looked in between her eyes and her lips before leaning down lower.

"Laura, I'm about to do something really stupid." He warned her, the look he gave her at that moment made a shiver go down her spine.

She lost her breathe for a moment as his lips light brushed hers, before he pushed forward more and captured her lips in a soft and gentle kiss.

She smiled into it and kissed him back, just as gentle, before she felt him bite down lightly on her lower lip. She gasped and he took advantage of it, kissing her deeper before breaking it and leaning his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

"Best kiss ever," She said and he opened his eyes, surprised that she'd said that. "Then again, you are the only person I've ever kissed in my life so…"

"Best kiss I've ever given you?" He asked and she nodded, leaning in she gave him a soft kiss.

"So much better than those rehearsed ones."

"Well I was acting then," He reminded her. "But I can promise you, I wasn't acting just now."

"I know." She leaned her head against his chest and let out a happy sigh. "You're a really good kisser, _Ross_." She smiled up at him and he smiled back.

"You too, Laura."

She giggled and then kissed him again. They kissed for a few more seconds, before Ross reluctantly pulled away.

"I'm really gonna miss you," He said, not really thinking it through before just blurting it out.

"What do you mean?" She asked and he searched her eyes for a few moments.

"I'm going on tour with everyone tomorrow, I leave first thing in the morning." He was afraid of her reaction, but to his surprise, she didn't pull away. If anything, she pulled him even closer.

"You can't leave," She whispered, "We just—"

"I know." He cut her off, not meaning to, but not wanting to be reminded of what she was implying. "But I can't back out, and we don't go back to shooting until September anyways."

She knew he was getting busier now that his band was more well known and popular. If she was really being honest, she'd admit that she hated it more than anything because she loved those days on set when it was just her and Ross in the school room, joking around and throwing balls of paper at each other, while they worked. Sometimes, he'd even get a little loony and start asking her random questions or tell her jokes that he knew only she would like. When it was just Laura and Ross, she was truly happy. She'd known nothing different for the past couple of years.

So, without really thinking it through and doing something _very _out of character, even for herself, she suggested something that even she didn't see coming.

"Then I want one night," Ross had lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her. "I want one night with you, something that I'll remember forever."

He raised an eyebrow at what she was implying.

"S-sorry?"

"You heard me," She spoke quietly, like a mouse.

"Here?"

She shook her head, "Let's go back to my house or something."

"Or we can go to mine. My family's going to be here for at least another three hours so…" He stepped away from her, both their arms dropping down to their sides before he took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. "If one last night is what you want, then one last night is what you're gonna get."

* * *

They didn't let go of the other's hand until they walked up to his front door and he had to find his keys. He let go of her hand, and she pouted, he smiled at her cuteness, and then soon found it. Putting it in the keyhole, he opened the door and to his surprise, she slammed it.

He then felt her press him against the door, pressing her body against his as she fiercely kissed him, her hands going to his hair as she tried to deepen the kiss as much as she could before breaking away from him, leaving the both of them breathless.

"Damn," He whispered and then he put his hand on the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her hair before he pressed his lips against her hard, his tongue tapping her mouth before biting down on her lower lip roughly, causing her to let out a moan.

She felt his reaction to that in seconds.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her as close as he could while he still made out with her, the kissing becoming more and more intense, before finally they broke apart, breathing heavily.

Her lipstick was all over his mouth and she smiled to herself.

"Come on," He whispered, "Let's go to my room." She nodded and then he took her hand, leading the way until they stopped in front of the door.

"Wait," She whispered and he raised an eyebrow. She leaned in and kissed him, pushing him against the door as his hand fumbled for the knob, he managed to open it a moment later and because he was leaning against it, stumbled backwards into the room. He still managed to hold Laura against him as he did, finding the first bed he could find, and then fell on it, Laura on top of him. She giggled against his lips and he just smiled, kissing her back before breaking the kiss.

"We're so lucky we landed on my bed," He said, leaning his head back and looking up at the ceiling. "Ryland would've kicked my ass if anything happened on his."

"Who said he'd have to know?" She responded back, and his eyes snapped towards hers, widening slightly when she unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing and started kissing down his chest. She looked up at him a moment later, "Who says anyone has to know?"

He knew it was wrong to like that idea, but he couldn't help it. If his family found out, they'd probably tease him for all of eternity for not doing it sooner or they'd be pissed off at him. But if they kept it a secret, no one would know. Not friends, family members, fans, media… it would just be a night that only the both of them would know. And he really liked the sound of that.

"Okay," He said quietly. "It'll be our little secret." She grinned up at him and then jumped on him again, kissing him deeply before he was starting to get a little more handsy. His hands slid up her back where he found the zipper to her dress and pulled it down all the way so that it fell just off her shoulders.

He pulled away from her a look she couldn't recognize on his face.

"What?" She asked.

"I want to do this right," He told her and got off the bed, she turned to him confused. He left the room for a moment and then came back a few minutes later with a few candles. Laura smiled as she saw just how much of a romantic Ross was. He started to put them around the room, lighting them as he went, before turned off the light and joined her back on the bed, the room now illuminated in a calming, romantic and peaceful glow.

She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck as she fell backwards on the bed, smiling up at him. She pulled him towards her and softly kissed him.

"It's perfect," She whispered.

He smiled and then kissed her more passionately, his hands going to her hair as he ran his fingers through them. After a few moments, she sat him up and then reached behind her to take off her dress. He helped her and it wasn't too long before it was discarded on the floor, his shirt, pants, shoes and her heels soon joining them.

They were kissing feverishly and quickly, falling back onto the bed as Ross' hands went through her hair, biting her lower lip softly, she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to slide against hers.

She slightly wiggled her body so that she could get more comfortable, the lower part of her body brushing against Ross'. They both moaned at the contact they felt, Ross' breathing becoming heavier.

She broke away from him for a moment and leaned her forehead against his, closing her eyes, she stroked the side of his face.

"How far do you want to go?" Ross asked her softly.

She opened her eyes to see he was staring intently back at her. She smiled and gave him an Eskimo kiss, resting her cheek against his as she took a moment to catch her breath.

"I want you," She finally answered him. She wasn't sure if it was because she wouldn't be seeing him for so long or if what she was feeling was real, but she just wanted him. All of him, as much of him as she could take. "I want all of you," She pulled away slightly to look him in the eyes.

She saw the look in his eyes, she saw that he was worried he was going to hurt her.

"And don't worry about hurting me," She told him, "I can take it." She smiled slightly, her thumb rubbing his lower lip as he just looked at her.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked a moment later and she nodded her head yes. "I've never… uhm, done this before."

"Really?"

He nodded, "I know it seems like I have, not to sound cocky or anything, but it's true. I've never gone this far with a girl before in my life. Barely even to second base."

She was surprised. He could see it.

But it soon turned to a smile. "Not to sound overly cheesy, but there's no one else I'd want to experience this with."

His response to that was to kiss her and kiss her hard. He broke it off a minute later, leaning his forehead against hers again, closing his eyes.

"I don't want to do this with anyone else either." He breathed and looked around the room for a moment. "I want one last good memory in here before I leave for six months."

Laura looked up at him, her hand on his chin.

"Kiss me," She whispered. She rubbed the lower part of her body against his and he just looked at her, "I dare you."

And kiss her he did.

* * *

Ross woke up and groggily looked at his clock. It read 12:30 am. He looked down and noticed Laura was fast asleep on his chest. He played with her hair for a few moments, closing his eyes again, before opening them and slowly getting off the bed. He walked over to where his jeans were lying on the ground and picked them up. He took his phone from the pocket and then pressed the home button. It lit up and he saw that he had a text from Ryland.

_Hey bro, we're not coming home. Mom and dad are too tired and we realized that we were as well. So we're gonna crash at a hotel for the night. No clue where you went though, you and Laura have been gone for a while, but I think Raini said Laura went home or something. If you hear from her let us know. See you tomorrow at 11. _

Oh, so his family never came home, that was kind of...a good thing, he realized. He knew that if his mother or father or even one of his siblings saw him and Laura, they'd never hear the end of it.

Smiling to himself, he thought of the night and the special moment they had shared together. He was surprised that she had been so willing to do it, as they always said they were strictly just friends.

Though he knew something had changed in them, both of them, not only that night but months before. They weren't "just friends", they hadn't been for a while, whether or not they knew it.

He heard something moving in his bed and realized that Laura was waking up. Quickly he walked over to her and laid back down in bed with her. He put an alarm on his phone for nine so that he could wake up on time.

"What happened?" He heard her whisper and he just wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head and getting comfortable underneath her. He closed his eyes.

"Don't worry." He whispered back. "Everything's fine."

* * *

Laura woke up the next morning, the sunlight beaming through the window and hitting her in the face. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, noticing that she was in bed with someone and not just anyone. She was in bed with her super attractive costar, but instead of it freaking her out, it made her kind of happy.

At least she was with someone she knew cared about her and who she knew she cared about as well. The soreness in between her legs told her something way more intimate than just a sleepover with friends happened and she was oddly okay with it.

"Ross," She whispered in his ear and his eyes opened drowsily to see that she had her chin on his chest and she was adorably staring up at him. She smiled, "Good morning."

"Good morning to you too." His voice sounded husky as he reached up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Did you sleep okay?"

She nodded. "I slept perfectly fine."

"Cool." He gave her a soft smile, "I did too."

She smiled at him.

It was silent for a few moments when Laura remembered something. It was the last day she was going to see him for a very long time. Suddenly, she didn't feel so happy about what she did the night before, and she could see it in his face when the realization hit him as well.

They both quickly and awkwardly got out of the bed. Ross gave her a pair of sweats and a tank top which she gratefully took from him, putting them on before sitting on his bed. He quickly got dressed and then sat down beside her. It was silent in between them again.

"Before you say anything…" Ross broke the silence and she looked at him. "I don't think what we did last night was a mistake." She nodded, a bit relieved but not quite.

"I don't think so either." She replied and then she looked away. She thought of all the movies and even in their damn show, when they guy would admit he was in love with her before they did anything more… than what they did. Though in their show, she realized, the guy still had trouble telling the girl he loved how he felt. She really hated when the show related to their actual lives sometimes.

"So uhm…" Ross trailed off, "My family's going to be home in like two hours do you want—" She then turned around to face him, her eyes glaring at him and it shocked him.

"Tell me how you really feel about me, Ross." She said in almost a demanding voice.

"I told you last night that I like you." He looked genuinely confused and she realized she couldn't exactly hate him for that.

"You don't just like me, we had sex." She reminded him, her tone wavering slightly. "You don't have sex with people that you just _like_."

He understood then what she wanted him to say and closed his mouth in a thin line, staring straight ahead.

"Why is it so damn hard for you to admit your feelings?" She asked him. "It's not hard to say hey, I—"

"Why don't you say it first then?" He challenged her. "You tell me first."

She might've been old fashioned, but she didn't want to be the first one to say it. She wanted him to. And she knew that since he was literally the most romantic person she'd ever met in her life, he'd do it.

But what she didn't know was that though Ross _knew _he felt it, he didn't want to admit it. He was afraid to, which he thought was kind of stupid given all that had happened in between them in the last twelve hours, but still he was afraid. And since he was so afraid, he wasn't going to say it.

"Sorry, Laura but I—" He looked right at her. "I don't feel that way." He said slowly regretting them just as soon as he said them.

Laura's eyes immediately filled with tears and her mouth dropped open her hand covering it before she closed it, and looked away. He knew he shouldn't have even tried to, but he got up and walked towards her, opening his arms to give her a hug, but she quickly shook her head and pushed him away.

"No." She spoke firmly. She saw the hurt in his eyes but she didn't give a shit. "No, you don't get to hug me after taking my virginity and then not saying you love me, okay? It doesn't work like that! Not in the fucking real world." She stared hard at him. "And what's worse is you're _bailing _on me for six months. So you know what Ross? Fuck you."

"Wow, Laura, that's real respectful. Thanks you know, for making me feel like shit."

"Yeah, well you should!" She yelled at him. "I can't deal with you right now." She bent down to grab her stuff, and then started to walk towards the door, but he quickly got up and stopped her. He stared at her hard for a few moments before he leaned in and kissed her roughly, trying to convey everything he felt about her into the kiss. He then broke apart from her and she just gave him the dirtiest look he'd ever seen from her. "Leave me alone." He could hear her voice was shaking.

"No."

"No?"

"Yeah, you heard me." He countered back. "You're not the boss of me."

"What? Come on Ross! Stop acting like a child! You and I took a big step last night and all you care about right now is yourself."

"No. I don't." He argued back. "I didn't just make myself feel good, if I remember correctly I made you feel pretty damn good too."

She backed away from him then, her stuff falling from her hands as she covered her face with her hands. She sniffled and then she looked at him.

"You of all people know that it's hard for me to express my emotions and feelings. Why are you being such a..." He trailed off trying to come up with a word, and finally settled on one. "Unfair person about all of this? Why do you act like I totally wanted this to happen?" His voice was getting louder, but he didnt even care. "I told you last night I was leaving, I'm not bailing on you. And also, you wont even admit your feelings for me either!" _  
_

"I can't believe I trusted you." She said staring right at him, clearly ignoring his little rant. He just sighed, letting his head hang a moment, before he intently stared at her.

"Yeah… that was your mistake." He was hurt and he was saying things he didn't even mean and lying to her. It wasn't like him, but he really didn't think it was right to tell her how he really felt because he was leaving for six months. Though, he realized that doing what he did the night before certainly didn't help either and it wrong, but still. He'd rather her hate him than tell her he loved her and then not see her for six months.

"Last night," She began to say a few seconds later, "shouldn't have happened. It was a mistake." She refused to meet his eyes.

A flash of hurt went through his eyes, but he just nodded. "Yeah, you're right. It was."

She knew she was going to cry at any moment, so she just grabbed her stuff and roughly pushed past him. He turned around to face her and she turned back to face him as well, stopping at the top of the stairs.

"Stay away from me," she told him, "I don't want to see, talk to you, or hear from you until we go back for filming. I want _nothing _to do with you." She then turned to walk down the stairs again.

"Laura, wait. Don't—" He tried to go after her, but he heard the door slam shut and then stayed where he was. He realized what just happened and then he started to breathe heavily, his eyes blurred with tears as he stumbled back into his room and fell onto his bed.

Not even half an hour passed before he heard someone come into the room and Ryland came inside, causing him to sit up immediately, rubbing his eyes and pretending like he'd been asleep.

"Dude, are you just waking up?"

"What?" He snapped, but then realized who he was talking about. "I mean, yeah. Sorry."

"We have to leave in like an hour."

"I know." Ross responded back harshly. "I fucking know, I don't need a damn reminder." And with that, he stood up and stormed out of the room, passed Riker who was just staring at Ryland confused.

"I have no idea what that was about," He said, shrugging. "Maybe he's just stressed out or something. I don't know."

Riker nodded, agreeing since Ross always got a little moody when he either didn't have enough sleep or was a bit overtired from working too much. Since he'd just finished filming the rest of the season and had been up late with the cast members doing it, he knew that was probably a part of it. And also mysteriously leaving the night before, but he wasn't going to bring that up.

* * *

Ross meanwhile had gone to the front of his house where he saw his mother was just getting out of the car, Rydel beside her.

Fuck.

He just wanted a few moments to himself, but it didn't look like he was going to get it.

"Hi, Ross." His mother smiled at him, "How are you?"

He didn't answer.

Rydel looked at him closely, "You okay? You look like your puppy just died or something."

Close, but not quite.

"Ross?" His mother asked, concerned and that's when he seemed to snap back to reality.

"Just stop asking me if I'm okay." He snapped, "I'm fine, I just want to get out of here and start the damn tour already."

"Ross, maybe you should sit—" Riker began, coming up from behind him to go outside and check on a few things they had to have done before they left.

"Don't tell me what to do!" He yelled at his older brother, turning around to face him. "I am so sick of people always telling me what to fucking do!"

"Ross, dude, you need to relax for a second." Riker calmly told him. "Maybe you're overtired or whatever, but you can relax on the bus."

He had been excited for this tour, he realized. Very excited. But he didn't want to go anymore if the girl he loved more than anything hated him. He had thought maybe that was for the best before, but now—now it was just a stupid, dumbass mistake on his part. He was such a douchebag.

"Yeah." He nodded. He then looked at his brother seriously, "I just want to get this next six months over with." And with that, he walked back inside the house to continue packing.

He checked his phone for any new messages and his heart hurt once he saw there weren't any.

He had just fucked up so badly that for once in his life, he had no fucking idea how he was going to fix it.

* * *

Laura cried as soon as she reached the front of her house, falling onto the stoop, she broke down, the tears streaming down her face harder as she tried to cover it with her hands. Realizing she had her dress in her hand, she angrily threw it across the lawn, not giving a shit where it landed or if it got ruined.

She then realized her neighbors could see her outside her house and that they would probably ask her ten billion questions she didn't want to answer. So she grabbed her dress and the rest of her stuff and unlocked the front door. Slamming it shut she ran up the stairs and into her room where she slammed and locked the door again, hitting it a few times, dropping her dress and other things, before throwing herself on the bed and clutching the pillow close to her, crying harder.

The last person she'd ever thought would hurt her in a million years, had hurt her more than she'd ever been hurt in her life.

Her whole body felt like it was on fire and not in the good way. She wanted to punch something so hard, but she knew even with a simple punch to anything, she'd have to go to the hospital because she wasn't as strong as she wished she was. Not physiologically, mentally, or spiritually. Ross fucking Lynch had broken her down to the point she didn't know if she could be fixed again.

She was thankful no one was home. She knew her sister was probably on set and her mother was off somewhere for meetings and shit. She didn't want anyone to see her right now. Not like this.

Slowly, she got up and looked at herself in the mirror. The girl staring back at her, she didn't even recognize.

Her hair was messed up and her eyes were really red. Her make-up was running slightly down her cheeks as she quickly wiped it away, ignoring that it was now on her fingers.

And as she stared at herself she realized a few things.

She was no longer a virgin.

She had sex with her best friend and costar.

And said best friend and costar had fucked her over big time.

Well, fine. She thought suddenly thankful he was going to be away for six months and she didn't have to see him.

At least she was going to keep herself so busy with school and other things that she wasn't going to even think about him.

He had fucked up and she wasn't going to forgive him so easily. Normally, she did, but she realized that this time, he didn't even deserve her forgiveness. And when she saw him again, six months later, he was going to suffer. He was going to feel what she was feeling because she wasn't ever going to forgive him.

For all she cared, he could go fuck himself. He didnt deserve her tears. Not anymore.

Staring at herself again, she realized at that from the night before forward, she was never going to be that same girl she was anymore.

Ross had fucked up and there was no way he'd be able to fix it. Not this time.

* * *

**There you have it. The big flashback that reveals everything that went on between them. Next chapter will be up soon. And yeah, I realize Laura was kinda out of character there, but you tell me if you'd act the same if someone you really liked did what Ross did to her. Yup.**


	13. Chapter 13

**You guys are overwhelming with your amazingness. I love every review I get and I'm so, so grateful. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I hoped you would.**

**Holy crap, I just realized that I'm almost at a hundred reviews. Eeep! So excited.**

**So, this is probably one of my favorite chapters. It takes place after the flashback and it went through a rewrite, but I really like what I came up with and... there's a surprise at the end! Yeah... but read the whole thing so you don't get confused later on. It's my favorite part of the story, just throwing that out there. **

**Enjoy. I know you will :)**

* * *

"What?" All his siblings exclaimed together and he just silently nodded.

It was silent for a few moments as they all processed what Ross had confessed.

"No wonder she was so pissed at you… it's all making so much sense now." Rocky broke the silence and Ross raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, you had to be an idiot to not see the sexual tension in between you two."

Ross stood up, looking at his brother a moment, "You and Calum should really become best friends, you two think so much alike, it's scary." Then he walked passed him to the other side of his room, where he grabbed a shirt and put it on.

"So, you and Laura had sex six months ago," Riker said and Ross nodded. "Then what happened?"

"We had a huge fight in the morning, and well…" He looked away embarrassed. "I was afraid to uh, tell her something and she got understandably pissed off and just left."

It all started to make sense to Ryland, why Ross was so pissed off that morning, why he was snapping at everyone for at least the first month or two of the tour, why he was always so agitated and got upset easily whenever anyone brought up Laura, even innocent fans who had no idea.

"She rejected you?" Rydel asked and he shook his head.

"More like I rejected her." He blinked, "Well, it really depends on how you look at it, if you want me to be honest."

"What exactly did you say to her?" Rydel gently asked him.

"She told me to tell her how I feel, and everyone who knows me knows that that's something that doesn't come easily for me." Rocky nodded, snapping his fingers in his direction. "So, I was kind of afraid to tell her I love her because I didn't want it to seem like a hit it and quit it kinda thing. I had sex with her the night before I leave, I tell her how I really feel about her, like I love her literally an hour or so before I leave and then I leave for six months. That seems kinda…"

"Not romantic." Rydel finished. He gave her a look, a bit weirded out that she knew what he was thinking. "Sorry, it's just you're such a romantic Ross, and I kinda see your side of it, but with Laura's I see why she was so upset and angry. It was like you had no regard for what you did and just—"

"Bailed on her, yeah." Ross nodded. "But it wasn't like I told her after we… you know," His cheeks started to turn pink as he realized he was talking about his sex life with his siblings. "I told her before anything happened and she wanted it just as much as I did."

"Well," Riker put his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "I think it's time you tell her the truth. Tell her how you really felt back then, how you feel now."

"I've already told her I love her," He said, not really caring that they knew now that they pretty much knew everything else. "I told her in New York." He wasn't about to add that the second time he told her he'd been drunk. "She hasn't responded to it."

"Well, maybe you need to remind her." Rydel suggested. When her brothers gave her a confused look, she clarified, "She doesn't believe you now, I assume, because of what happened with you before. Maybe you need to _really _tell her and make her believe you."

"How?" Ross asked.

"Like Rydel said, you're the most romantic guy, not only have we ever met, but Laura has as well. You'll find a way." Rocky assured him, and Ross smiled at him. He blinked a few seconds later, "But try to stay away from the whole _Romeo and Juliet _thing, okay? No stabbing, no deaths, just… talking and maybe a little bit of—" He awkwardly cleared his throat. "You know…"

Ross rolled his eyes, "Thanks so much for that Rocky. I really appreciate it." He smiled to let Rocky know he truly meant it."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Rydel asked him. "Go. Go to her house and talk to her."

"But what about mom and dad? I'm sure they want to talk to me."

"Don't worry about them." Ryland said, "We got them, you just… go get your girl." He winked at him and Ross smiled at him too.

"Thanks guys."

And with that, he quickly put his shoes on and grabbed the keys to his car. He ran out of the room and out of the house before his parents were able to question him, leaving his vibrating and lit up phone behind him.

* * *

Laura was so embarrassed. She honestly didn't think she'd ever be able to face Ross' family ever again. They had seen her half-naked for god sakes, in a compromising position with Ross too. She could only imagine what was going through their heads at that moment.

Opening the front door, she closed it and went into the kitchen to grab a cup of water and hopefully some aspirin to sooth her headache, before she went upstairs to her bedroom to change.

Those plans had been aborted immediately when she saw her mother and Vanessa sitting at the kitchen table, a magazine in front of them. She also noticed they didn't look to happy.

Her mother slowly took a sip of coffee as Laura just stood there, frozen in her spot.

Shit, she knew she should've called first to at least them know she was okay.

"Where have you been?" Ellen asked her, her tone emotionless. "Why haven't you called?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't. I—I got caught up in a few things." Laura finally answered her. "It won't happen again."

"I thought we had this discussion," Ellen turned towards her and Laura saw true anger in her eyes. More so than she'd ever seen in her life. "We had talked about you staying out of trouble, what happened?"

"And don't try to deny it," Vanessa added, she handed her the magazine that was in front of her. "We read all about your adventures this morning."

Laura gasped as she read the front paper of the magazine dropping it like it had stung her. Shit, she thought. Shit, shit, shit. She looked up at her family and bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

"So? Are you going to explain yourself?" Ellen asked her and Laura just stood there. "Is this true?"

She knew there was no sense in denying it. She also knew that that was probably why everyone had come into Ross' room that morning. She also wondered if Stormie or Mark had called and talked to her mother yet. Probably was the best answer she could come up with.

"Yes." She finally answered, "It's true."

"So, it's true that you're not a virgin?" Her mother demanded.

"Mom." Vanessa spoke, "Come on, be reasonable."

"Reasonable? My daughter admitted to some stranger that she wasn't a virgin and now it's in every damn newsstand in Los Angeles, probably the rest of the country too!" Ellen was yelling and Laura suddenly felt very afraid of what she was going to do. She'd never hurt her, but Laura had never seen her so angry at her before. "What could have possessed you to do that?"

"I don't know!" Laura finally answered, "Okay? I'm sorry. I don't even remember doing it!"

"How can you not remember telling someone something like this?" Ellen demanded. "Unless you were drunk, but I doubt that because you made a promise to your boss and me that you weren't going to do that again." When Laura was silent, she knew she'd gotten her answer. "What is going on with you? You are not the daughter I raised you to be!"

Suddenly, Laura felt angry. Her headache certainly wasn't helping things either. "Oh yeah? Well, what about you? You lied to me about my father my entire life! And not only me, but Vanessa too! What kind of person does that? Oh and you know, since we're all about keeping nothing from each other now, guess what else? I saw my father." Her mother's eyes widened and Vanessa's mouth dropped open. "Yeah, in New York, Ross and I went to go see him and guess what? He's a jerk! He's a fucking asshole, so you were right about that. He wanted to use me for my fame and then pay me off so I wouldn't tell anyone. Ross probably too. And then Ross and I got into another damn fight while we were there, so you know what? Maybe I'm just so messed up and so lost that I just needed a break from reality. I got drunk last night, so what? So fucking what!" She was nearly screaming at this point, her hands went to her hair and Vanessa immediately snapped out of her shock to go help her, by taking her hands out of her hair and holding them for a few moments before letting go.

Her mother on the other hand, was so shocked, she didn't even know what to say.

Vanessa on the other hand, was determined to talk to her sister. Alone.

"Mom? I need to speak with Laura, alright? You just… go over there and I'll talk to her. Calm down and she'll be back soon."

Ellen just nodded and slowly took a seat while Laura just turned and stormed out of the kitchen and up to her room. Vanessa was fast and soon caught up to her, closing the door softly behind her.

"What on earth has gotten into you?" She demanded. "Getting drunk, yelling at mom, lashing out, this isn't you!"

"Well maybe this is the new me." Laura shot back. "I'm so much better now, because I'm not a damn doormat for everyone else to just walk all over!"

"Listen to yourself, Laura! You're not—" Vanessa paused, taking a deep breath, before she spoke again, her tone softer. "What happened? Why does that article say you told someone you aren't a virgin? I know it's true, since you confirmed it, but why? Why would you do that? Share something of yours that's so private."

"I was drunk, Vanessa. I hardly even remember anything I did last night let alone tell someone that story."

"Where were you last night?" Vanessa asked, suddenly remember she never came home the night before.

"I was at Ross'," She mumbled. Vanessa stared at her for a few moments, before it all clicked in her head.

"The article, it said Ross had crashed the party and got into a fight after you did. Considering it said you told someone you lost your virginity and he showed up, I can kinda see where everyone thinks it was him that you lost your virginity to, but who knows really? I mean, what other guys are you close to except for Calum, but I doubt it was him since you two have like no romantic chemistry whatsoever and—"

"Vanessa, get to the damn point." Laura was becoming impatient.

Vanessa stopped talking and looked at her. She then gave her a gentle smile, "It was Ross, wasn't it?"

Laura didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know what she meant by that question.

"Yes," She answered, "Ross and I… we…yeah." She didn't want to look at her in that moment. Though, Vanessa just smiled at her.

"That's great then isn't it?"

"No." Laura responded, scoffing a bit. "He wouldn't admit his feelings for me, and I got mad because he basically bailed on me… that's why I was so angry with him when he came back. And all we do now is fight and fight."

"But you also make up with him a lot," Vanessa reminded her. She was silent for about a second, "Did you and Ross end up doing anything last night?"

"No." Laura looked down. "We fell asleep, that's it."

Vanessa nodded as Laura went to sit on the bed. She played with her fingers for a few moments. Before looking up at her.

"I love him, I really, really love him." Her voice cracked with emotion, her eyes tear-filled as she spoke. "I know he loves me back."

"I do too." Vanessa smiled at her as she took a seat beside her. "Anyone can see he does."

"He told me he did, while were in New York, a part of me believes him, because well he seemed like he meant it, even if the second time he said it he was drunk, long story," She said when Vanessa gave her a look, "But another doesn't believe it because when I tried to get him to say it before, he didn't. It was like he couldn't say it to me and all of what we did together was just a lie. Like, he just wanted to feel that intensity that comes with being intimate with someone else and he used me to do it."

"I don't think so," Vanessa shook her head. "I think he truly meant it, and no matter what you think, you'll always know deep down inside that it's a hundred percent true."

Laura nodded.

"Why don't you take a few moments to just chill and rest and I'll come get you when mom's completely calm as well. I promise, I'll be there with you while you two talk okay?" Laura nodded and grabbed her older sister's hand. She held it tightly, leaning her forehead on her shoulder, before letting go.

"Thanks Vanessa." She smiled and Vanessa smiled back.

"Anytime, baby sis."

* * *

She'd been outside in the backyard, writing in her songbook (yes, she had one just like Ally did) and really into the song she was writing, when she heard some footsteps behind her.

"Hi, Ross." She said, her tone deadpanning but also teasing. "I know it's you."

He didn't say anything.

"Unless it's Velvet, but she's with my sister so—"

"I lied." He finally spoke, and she looked up from her book, staring straight ahead a moment, before he spoke again. "I lied to you that day I left for the tour." She turned around, and then followed his eyes as he went to sit on the table in front of her.

"What do you mean, you lied?"

He didn't say anything for a few moments, studying the way the light breeze made her hair blow into her face, and how she was shivering, still dressed in his hoodie and sweatpants. Seeing that, alone, made him smile a little, but it soon went way.

"You told me that morning, to tell you how I felt. And I acted like it meant nothing to me."

He saw her body stiffen slightly, but she didn't say anything, so he continued.

"I told you I wasn't in love with you and that I basically used you and… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I acted like such a douche about it."

"It's—"

"Don't you dare tell me it's okay. You even said so yourself in New York, you still haven't forgiven me for that night and I don't blame you. If it was me in your position, I wouldn't forgive myself either."

"Ross—"

"And now the news about what happened is out for billions of people to read and—" He noticed how she looked down at her songbook, but a moment later, she closed and it and looked away. He paused what he was going to say a moment to give her a confused look. "Do you know something I don't?"

She sighed, "Obviously it was me, you know that leaked that information. No one else but you and I knew about it, but the thing is, I was so drunk last night I couldn't remember who I spoke to."

"Uh, you were going up the stairs with some guy… no clue what is name was but he did yell at you as we were leaving that he knew your secret. I'm assuming it was him."

"Oh, shit." Laura put her head down in her hand, she stayed like that for about a minute and then looked up, her eyes tear-filled. "I'm so sorry, Ross." She whispered.

He shook his head, "You don't have to be sorry."

"But everything we kept a secret for so long, got leaked and it was all because of me and my stupidity."

"I've made some mistakes too, remember?" He mumbled and she nodded, making a mental note to talk to one of her classmates to find out who exactly she had told and then once she found him, kick his ass for telling something so personal to the media just so he could have money or whatever it was sleazebags like him got from telling a juicy story about a celebrity.

It was silent, before Ross looked at her and to his surprise, she was staring back at him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered again, "I know nothing I do or say will make up for what I did, but I'm really and truly sorry."

"I know," Laura's voice was soft. "I've known for a while now."

Suddenly he felt angry, "And you still let me feel like this? Like shit?" His voice was louder, and Laura felt like she was being attacked for something that was his fault in the first place. "What the fuck?"

"I wasn't going to let you in so damn easily, I might've in some ways, I guess, but I didn't fully forgive you. You were the one who had sex with me and then told me the next morning that it meant nothing! How do you think that made me feel? Like shit. I felt rejected and hurt. I was angry. So there you go." She finished off weakly as her voice was starting to tremble was Ross stood up. She stood up too and didn't even meet his eyes. "I wanted you to pay for what you did to me."

They stared each other down intensely for a few moments before Ross began to laugh humorously.

"Well, that's just awesome." He let his head hang. "I—I hate myself for what I did, okay? How could you have not seen that? Why did you make me—" He couldn't even finish his sentence, he had no idea what to say.

"Sorry." Laura stated firmly, her voice still shaking. "Sorry I'm such a bitch."

His eyes snapped towards hers and immediately he grabbed her hands, feeling guilty that he'd ever called her that in the first place. But she quickly moved them away, backing up slightly as she shook her head.

"Maybe we both don't have a right to be angry anymore." He said, "Maybe we're just…"

"In denial?" Laura finished for him. He slowly nodded.

"Yeah," His eyes fell as he tried to think of something, _anything_ to say to her. "But here's the thing, I told you how I felt, you never said anything back."

Laura just shook her head, glaring at him. "Come on, Ross. The first time you said it was sort of in the moment as we were fighting and I was upset with my father. The second time was when you were drunk. You really think I believe that after what happened?"

She had a point, she really did. He understood why she didn't believe him and didn't blame her at all really.

"Maybe the time is never right for us," She said a moment later, but Ross wasn't paying attention to her words anymore. "We're on a tv show, if we break up it'll just be awkward and—mmph!"

Ross had abruptly grabbed her hand and pulled her against him, so close, their chests were touching. He then put one of his hands in her hair and pulled her towards him, kissing her lips fiercely. It had all happened so fast, Laura didn't have time to think, let alone come up with a reaction.

He kept kissing her, parting her lips with his tongue he kissed her deeper, and then waited a few moments before she finally put her hands in her hair and reached up, kissing him just as deep and passionate, before they broke apart, breathing heavily they stared at each other.

It was perfect, she realized. It was such a Ross thing to do too. And, even better, it felt like a scene from _The Notebook_ or one of the hundreds of romantic movies Ross had forced her to watch with him on cold, rainy winter nights or if he was just bored and wanted company. The only thing, she realized, that would've made it perfect, would have been if it had been raining and there was romantic music playing in the background and maybe some romantic music too.

They continued to stare at each other for a few moments, not sure of what to say, or what the appropriate reaction to what had just happened was.

After a few more seconds of silence, having not been able to take it anymore, Ross was the first to speak. He stared at her intently, into her eyes as his hand reached up to rub her lower lip with his thumb, his voice husky.

"Believe me now?"

* * *

**So... what did ya think? Was it good, bad? Did it suck? What do you think her answer will be? Update will be soon! So stayed tuned... lol, I've always secretly wanted to say that. Guess it's not so secret anymore. Heh. **

**Also, I have a question, I'm thinking of ending this story in a few chapters, but I don't know. Should I just keep continuing or should I write another story after this? It's up to what you guys want. Let me know what you prefer I do, and I'll be more than happy to do it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ridiculously and cheesily cute. You've waited long enough. Here it is. **

* * *

Laura pulled him closer, her hands still on his neck, as she smiled against his lips, about to kiss him again, when he pulled away and gave her a look.

"Not that I'm not loving this, but seriously…do you believe me?"

Her mouth dropped open in offense and he burst out laughing. "Well, I…"

"…and Laura the cockblock is back," He teased and she rolled her eyes, playfully smacking him.

She stared at him for a moment, before she leaned in and initiated the kiss that started an almost two minute make-out session. He pinched her waist and she giggled, slapping him lightly before leaning in and kissing him deeper.

She broke it a few moments later and smiled up at him, "What do you think?" She asked him a moment later and it took him about a second to realize what she was implying, before a smile spread across his face and he leaned in to kiss her again.

Unfortunately for him, the sound of someone clearing their throat prevented him from even trying when Laura turned her head to see who it was. He sighed and she gave him a sympathetic look, before turning back again and actually seeing the person in front of her.

"Max?" She stepped closer, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Was I interrupting something?"

Yeah, Ross wanted to say, Laura and I making out.

"No." Laura answered, stopping Ross before he could say anything. She looked at Max expectantly and that's when Ross realized who this Max was; the guy who was so judgmental of Laura's lifestyle that had caused their eventual break-up. Not that that didn't make him happy or anything.

"I just came by to talk, but it seems like you're pretty busy." Max sent Ross a glare so cold, Ross was surprised Laura didn't react to it.

"Ross was just visiting for…" She tried to think of something and fast. "We were running lines." She eventually came up with, trying to put the look of hurt on Ross' face to the side. She'd talk to him about it later and explain everything.

"There are no scripts around."

Crap, Laura thought.

"We have to be off scripts by tomorrow," Ross decided to help her out and she gave him a grateful look. "If you saw anything, it was just us rehearsing for scene." She didn't miss the bitterness in his tone. "But I think we're done here, so I'll leave you two alone. It seems like you've got some catching up to do."

"Ross, wait don't leave." Laura looked at him, pleading with her eyes to stay.

"I've got band rehearsal," He told her, shrugging. "Sorry." And with that, he left, without another word. She heard the sound of a car door slam a moment later and knew he was angry.

She turned to Max, suddenly angry herself. "What is it that you needed so badly you would come to my house in the middle of the day?" She demanded.

"Who's clothes are you wearing?" He asked, ignoring her question. "Is it his?"

"Why do you even care? We aren't together."

"We aren't? I thought our fight was just a misunderstanding, you even said so yourself."

"Yeah, but you were the one who attacked me. Look, Ross and I, our friendship is one of the ones I value the most out of any other friendship I've ever had with anyone, excluding my best friends from school, my other cast mates, his siblings and my sister. I'm not going to let you ruin it because of some jealousy or judgment you have over us. It isn't fair."

"Is that why you lied about your virginity?" Max asked her, pulling the magazine from his back pocket, he threw it in front of her. "I never had sex with you. In fact, you refused to have sex with me, remember?"

Oh, she definitely did. They were making out in his car after school one afternoon and he had gone a little too far, way more than she had been comfortable with, and had flat out rejected him, causing them to start a fight that was pretty much stupid in her opinion. He had been so immature and so upset about it that they hadn't talked for a few days. In fact, she had been the one who apologized because she was tired of constantly fighting with everyone, having gotten into the major one with Ross earlier that day.

"Yeah." She nodded, "But I wasn't lying about my virginity, not that that's any of your business."

"If not with me, then who?" He asked, before the realization hit him. "You mean, him, with that idiot?"

"He's not an idiot," She firmly stated. "He's my best friend and I love him with all my heart, so if all you're going to do is judge him and put him down, than I suggest you leave now."

Her stare was so intense, it even made Max afraid. Though he slowly nodded his head. Laura's face softened a bit, but not too much.

"You actually care about him," He said quietly and she nodded. "You know what? I can respect that, and I'm sorry for any jerky thing I've ever done. If you're worried about me saying anything to the media, I know enough to keep my mouth shut, but the person who did do all of this," He gestured to the magazine. "He's an idiot and I can't apologize for him, but it's something that I can promise you, I wouldn't think of doing."

"Thank you, Max. That really means a lot to me."

He gave her a soft smile, "Friends?"

She smiled back, "Friends." And then they hugged. Laura stepped away from him and he gave her a shoulder a soft squeeze.

"I'm going home, but uh, I think you should go after him." He winked at her and with that, before she could say anything more, he walked out through the back gate.

Laura was silent for a few moment, still trying to process all that had happened in the past hour, when she realized that she needed to speak to Ross, and right away. So, she ran into the house, past Vanessa, and grabbed her car keys. She opened the front door only to stop short when she saw Ross' car was still parked at the end of her driveway, just a bit to the left. She slowly walked to the car and softly knocked on the window, causing him to look up and roll down the window. She gestured to the inside of the car.

"May I come in?"

He nodded and unlocked the car. She opened it and sat down beside him.

"Max just left," She lamely started. "And uh, he understands now, what the deal is with us. I didn't have to do too much explaining, but… uhm, he gets it." He still said nothing, just stared straight ahead, his jaw clenched. "I thought you had band rehearsal."

"I do."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because, I couldn't leave, not yet." He still didn't look at her.

It was the romantic in him, she realized. Even if he didn't know it yet himself, it was something every girl ever wanted a guy to do. Wait for them to come to their senses and stay outside for them, until they came running to them, meeting them halfway, the girl jumping onto the guy, wrapping her arms and legs around him and him spinning her around, laughing happily as he put her down and then they would share a passionate kiss.

Though, it didn't happen exactly like that, she still appreciated the fact that he had waited for as long as he did, and that extended far more than just that morning.

It was silent for a while after that, the only sound the soft sound of the radio playing in the background. It was one of their favorites. _Wake Me Up by Avicii. _Ross had played it on the guitar for her before he'd left for the tour one day on set, and they had sung and dance along to it. At that moment, it felt like the lyrics were speaking right to her.

_Wake me up when it's all over.. when I'm wiser and I'm older.. All this time I was finding myself… and I didn't know I was lost… _

Had she really been blind to it that whole time? Her feelings? Or was she just so far in denial it was starting to become noticeable by everyone else?

Looking up at Ross, she realized that though she had spent the last six months lost and angry and hating him, she really didn't. All that anger was just a cover up. She was so deeply in love with him that it even scared her a little bit. But, he was Ross, he was the right guy for her and maybe them being casted together on the show and meeting and playing the lead roles and doing what they did and all this trouble that was caused from it were all signs.

Signs that she should be with him.

Signs that she was in love with him and it was time to man up and tell him.

Noticing that it was a CD, that song had ended, and she had reached over and restarted the song, much to his surprise.

"Listen to the lyrics," She whispered, her voice raspy. "Listen to them and tell me they're not true." And then she started to sing along with the chorus. Tears in her eyes, she watched as he started to sing along with her, turning to face her, before he slowly nodded, getting what she was trying to say, and though she didn't want to say it out loud, she knew she had to. And she knew she was more than ready to at that point.

Ross had looked away again and she decided then was the moment she'd been waiting for.

"I love you, Ross. I love you so much it scares me." He looked right at her. "I know I haven't really expressed it much, but I truly do love you." She grabbed his hand and held it, rubbing her hand on top of his index finger with her thumb. "You're the only person who could make me feel so loved and safe at the same time. No matter where I am, no matter where we are."

She paused a moment, before continuing.

"You are the best and scariest thing that's ever happened to me, but I wouldn't change it, not for anything."

He could tell she meant every word she was saying, because she had tears in her eyes and it was so emotional, it made him want to cry. But being the "tough guy" he was, he kept his tears inside and instead reached one hand up to cup her cheek. He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. She did the same and they sat like that for a few moments, before another song started.

Another song they both loved and, the song that they really decided was "_theirs_". Even if they hadn't known what it meant back then, they both agreed it was their special song.

"I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart…" Ross sang to her and she smiled, giggling lightly. "I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart," He sang along again a few moments later and she just shook her head against him. He stared at her for a few moments, his tongue brushing her lower lip's. "Can I kiss you now?"

"Actually, I think the correct way to say it is, _may I kiss you now_?"

He gave her his famous 'wtf' face and it made her burst out into laughter. "Really, you're choosing this exact moment to correct my grammar now of all times?"

"You're the one who said I was the grammar police, remember?"

He sighed, "Regretting that now."

She giggled, "So? What are you waiting for?" She whispered a moment later.

"The perfect moment," He responded. She looked at him confused. He then looked out of the windshield and she did too still confused, only to see that it was just starting to rain. The raindrops hit the window and she felt a comfort in it. Rain always comforted her, but for some reason in that moment, she felt more at home than she ever had in her life. Even if she was just in Ross' car. She turned back to him and he looked at her. Then, without another word, he leaned in and softly and gently kissed her. She kissed him back, just as gentle and then broke it, looking at him a moment, before letting go of his hand and placing both of hers on his face, cupping him, she leaned over the gearshift and pulled him towards her, kissing him deeper and more passionately as his hands held her place on her waist.

They continued to kiss for a few more seconds, before the need for air became very real and they broke it, staring at each other in amazement.

"No one's ever made me feel the way you do, Laura." Ross told her.

"Yeah," She agreed, "I'm starting to feel the same way."

He took her hand in hers, "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." She whispered back and then softly kissed him before laying her head on his shoulder, his arm going around her waist, he held her close to him and together they just sat there, watching the rain as it fell and enjoying the moment neither one of them wanted to break.

* * *

"Rydel? Riker? Do any of you know where your brother is?" Stormie asked, walking into the family room to see her older children, along with Ratliff watching tv. "Your father's been trying to reach him all afternoon."

"Rocky?" Rydel asked.

"Ryland?" Riker asked a moment later.

"No." Stormie sighed, "Ross."

Rydel and Riker looked at each other a moment, before shrugging.

"Haven't seen him," Rydel answered, turning back to the television show they were currently hooked on.

"Well, you've got to leave for rehearsal in about thirty minutes and he's not here, so… any ideas at all as to where he could be?"

Riker looked up at that moment and saw the front door softly open and then softly close. Ross stood in front of it, with Laura, his hands on her waist as he leaned against it, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands in his hair, he kissed her softly.

"Maybe right behind you," Riker answered, and Rydel looked up, she smiled at the sight and then her eyes widened as she realized her mother was about to ruin a moment. She quickly got up and put her hand on Stormie's shoulder.

"Look at them," She said quietly. "Young love, isn't that so cute?"

"Yeah," Stormie smiled, "I have to admit that it is, but he's been—"

"I know, causing trouble and being a bit rebellious and very un-Ross like but come on, even you can't ruin a moment like that," She whispered gesturing to Ross who had kissed Laura again, which caused her to giggle. They then watched him give her an Eskimo kiss and Stormie smiled.

"Alright, I'll give them a few more minutes. I'm going to go let your father no he's here."

"Perfect." Rydel said and then she hugged her mother. After Stormie walked away, she sat down beside Riker and bumped her fist with his.

"Took them long enough," Riker said and Rydel nodded.

"I couldn't agree more," Ratliff added.

"Well, the important thing is they're happy." Rydel bit her lip. "Let's try not to ruin it for them. They've waited long enough."

"They? What about us." Riker asked, "It's been denial town since they met two years ago."

Rydel smacked him, "Don't push it."

* * *

"Come on, Ross." Laura laughed as he kissed her again. "You can kiss me later, right now you've got a rehearsal to go to."

"Yeah, but kissing you is so much more fun." He told her, as he sat down on his bed, laying back and he pulled her on top of him. He was surprised none of his family members barged in on them. Since he was still underage, technically him being alone with a girl in his room was basically forbidden, so why no one had bothered them was a surprise to him. But, then again, he realized. It was Laura and she was always different than anyone else, excluding his sister.

She giggled and then kissed him softly, before looking up and breaking away from him. "Come on, I'll even go with you, if you want."

"Isn't that why you're here?" He asked her and she laughed.

"I think this might turn out to be a good thing," She told him, and he raised an eyebrow in question, "us together like this."

"So… what does that mean?"

"That until you ask me to officially be your girlfriend in your own, Ross way, this more than friends thing will work out just fine."

"Was that a hint, because I think it was." He blinked as he sat up, an amused smile on his face.

"Oh my god, you are so lucky you are cute." She kissed him and then stepped away from him, holding her hand out, he grabbed it and she pulled him up. "Come on, lazybutt, let's get your ass to rehearsal and then you and I can have some 'special time'."

His eyes lit up, "I like the sound of that."

"Oh, I had a feeling you would." She gave him a sultry look and he couldn't help but kiss her again. She had just started kissing back when he heard his dad yell his name.

"Dammnit," He whispered, "I guess someone had to be the cockblock here, replace you…" He teased and she rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Rozy."

"Rozy?"

"I don't know where that came from, but I like it." She told him as they walked out of his room.

"So you're going to call me that now?"

She nodded.

"Fine, then I'm going to call you… Lorax."

"What?" She laughed, as he just nodded, clearly proud of himself.

"Fun fact, it was my favorite Dr. Seuss book when I was a kid so…" He winked at her and she smiled.

"Okay Rozy."

"Right backatcha Lorax."

She laughed and he picked her up spinning her around as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She then stopped and he looked at her confused, "Didn't you call me that like a year ago?"

He smiled, "And now you know why."

"ROSS GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW BEFORE I COME IN THERE AND HURT YOU." He heard Rocky yell and they burst out laughing.

"Technically though, I started calling you that when I met you."

"Oh my god," Laura's eyes widened and he smiled even bigger. "You've been calling me Lorax for a long time now!"

"Man, you really should pay attention." He teased.

"Guess, I was just… a bit distracted."

"Right, so…" He trailed off as they walked to the van together. "Will you go on a date with me, tomorrow night?"

"Are you asking me out on—oh come on, Ally." He laughed as they sat in the back off the van. "Yes, Ross, I would _love _to go on our first official date with you," And then she kissed him and he kissed her back and they both ignored the complaints of his family in the front of the car.

"So," Rydel turned to them. "Is it official?"

Ross and Laura exchanged a look, before he shook his head, smiling. "Not yet."

She smiled back.

Maybe they weren't a official couple just yet. At least, she figured, she _finally _got the guy. Even if he did call her Lorax. He was everything she wanted and she was happy.

* * *

**It's not the end of the story. Don't worry. Still lots more to come! Like their date and going back to work and Calum's and Raini's reactions and all that fun stuff. Don't judge me for the nicknames by the way, lol. I dont even know where they came from.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Enjoy. Sorry it took so long for me to update it. And I love all of you for your reviews, just amazing. Thank you. **

* * *

She was having a nice, sweet dream, cuddling into her pillow, a smile on her face as she dreamed of nothing but happy things. It was the kind of dream she didn't want to wake up from. But being the light sleeper she was, a bounce and weight shift on her bed immediately woke her up and her eyes opened wide as she turned to see a familiar blonde boy laying beside her, a grin on his face as he stared back at her.

"Ross!" She whisper-yelled, "what are you doing here?" She looked at her clock as she sat up, "At five in the morning?"

He shrugged, "I couldn't sleep, and I was bored…" He trailed off and she sighed, letting her head drop into her hand and shook it for about a second, before turning back to him.

"Bored huh? You do realize I have a eight am call time and need my sleep?"

He shrugged, "Mine's at nine."

"I already hate you more for having your call time an hour later than me," She mumbled, feeling sleepy. He burst out laughing and she glared at him.

"Look, I remembered you telling me that you were going to be home alone for the night—"

"Oh you remembered that, but not—"

"To be clear, it's not for the reason you think." He gave her a look to illustrate his point better. "Anyway, I was kind of… worried about you I guess, though I had a feeling you were okay. I couldn't sleep so I just came by to check on you, in a way? I don't know, does that seem weird because when I say it out loud it kind of does."

Laura stared at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. He gave her a look indicating he was very confused. She shook her head, still laughing and cupped his face in her hands, before leaning in and gently kissing him.

"You are too cute and sweet for your own good." She whispered and then kissed him again, allowing him to kiss her back, before he broke it, smiling.

"I'm glad you think so," He told her honestly. They stayed like that for a few moments, before he looked behind him, noticing she had a ipod dock where he could plug in his phone. He pulled away from her, and she looked up at him curiously. "I know you hate me for waking you up this early, but…" He held his hand out to her. "Dance with me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

He rolled his eyes, "Dance with me," He repeated. She took his hand and then he lifted her up, hard enough that she fell against him, but he straightened her up and then he pulled his phone out, walking over to the dock, he put his phone in and then a song that Laura recognized as one of his favorites came on. She smiled at him as he put one hand on her waist and held her other hand in his, moving from side to side.

"You are such a romantic," She sighed dreamily as she put her head against his chest and he held her tighter. "Add that to the reasons why I love you."

He grinned, looking down at her as they slowly moved. "Wanna know something?"

She looked up at him.

"You're… uhm…" His eyes looked away for a moment, before he looked back at her, suddenly very nervous to tell her. "I…" He tried again, but failed.

"It's okay, you can tell me," Laura whispered, knowing it was hard for him to express himself emotionally into words. Her thumb rubbing his hand gave him courage, and he knew at that moment, that he would be able to say what he wanted to.

"You're the only girl I've ever met that I've ever felt a connection like this with." He looked right into her eyes. "And I don't know if it's scary or what, but I really love it and I don't want it to go away."

The song ended, but she noticed that it had started again. She was silent for a few seconds, before she stopped dancing and looked up at him again. She pulled him close to her and kissed him passionately as she felt tears come to her eyes. She pulled away, her eyes still closed, and took a deep breath.

"It scares me too," She finally answered, "I've never felt this way either and like you, I love it and don't want it to go away."

"I think," He began, "That it doesn't have to be scary if we don't let it be."

She nodded. "I agree."

They started to slowly dance again as Ross wrapped his arm around her in a half hug as Laura laid her head on his chest, thinking for a few moments.

"What do we tell everyone?" She asked him and he looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean about the article, I mean we both have coincidently been off of twitter for a few days, so… what do we tell our fans? The media? Interviewers? I'm sure we have a few later today."

"We tell them… what _you're _comfortable with." He answered giving the hand he was holding a reassuring squeeze. "We don't have to tell them anything you aren't comfortable with."

"They're going to know it's true, someone from my school is their source. I can't lie about that."

"Sure you can," Ross answered.

"But they had pictures."

He shrugged, "The media fucks with pictures all the time to make it look like something it isn't."

"There were a lot of witnesses." Laura pointed out.

"Do they all have a reason to go against you? I mean you've said it yourself, everyone's really supportive of you."

"True, I don't think they would," Laura nodded agreeing. "So what should I tell them?"

"I don't know, that he made it up and it isn't true. The whole world doesn't need to know something so private, you know? I've learned that there's a rule in Hollywood: if it doesn't come straight from your mouth, then it isn't true. So just… tell them what you think is right and hopefully they'll either do the right thing and put out a new one retracting the previous one or they'll be assholes and twist it into an untrue story."

She nodded, "True… but if it's with Dana and Joslynn, I think we'll be okay." She smiled up at him, "You always know how to make me feel better."

He smiled and then stepped away from her, she raised an eyebrow, "it's what I do," He said, before taking her hand and holding it up, spinning her around, she fell into his other arm and he held her in place. She looked up at him and he looked down at her a moment, before lifting her up and pulling her closer, kissing her deeply. She responded back and then sighed happily before pulling away. "Still tired?" He asked her and she nodded.

"It's only five thirty, you've got a good two and a half hours. So, come on…" He led her to her bed and laid her down. "Get some sleep, okay?" He kissed her forehead and then went to go get his phone. He was just taking the song off repeat, when he heard her call his name and turned around to face her.

"Stay." She whispered, "Stay with me, please?"

He smiled and nodded, abandoning his phone, he lay down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, her back against his chest, he put his head down directly beside hers. "Get some sleep," He whispered into her ear.

"I love you, thanks for this early morning surprise." She mumbled back sleepily.

He smiled, "I love you too, Laura." And with that, he closed his eyes, drifting into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Ross had left about fifteen minutes after she woke up because he didn't have to be on set for another hour and forty-five minutes. He wanted to shower and get dressed, before going there and she agreed that it was best for him to leave so that she could get ready herself.

She still had an hour to go until she saw him and already she missed him like crazy as she thought about the night before with the rehearsal and how much fun they had, then that morning when he surprised her with a romantic gesture. She had really lucked out with him, he was such a sweetheart and though he'd hurt her as badly as he had six months before, she could see he was making up for it.

She smiled to herself as she picked up her script, going over her lines, when her dressing door was thrown open and Raini walked in, holding Pixie.

Laura's eyes lit up, "Pixie!" She squealed going over to her, she took her from Raini and held her above her. "I missed you!"

"It's only been maybe a week." Raini laughed.

"Yeah, but it's Pixie…" Laura trailed off as though she really didn't need much of an explanation for her excitement. "Anyway, good morning, Raini, how are you?" She smiled warmly at her.

"I'm good. How are you?"

Laura smiled, "Perfect."

Raini raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah, just really happy."

"How was New York?"

"It was… interesting." Laura answered, "So much happened, I don't even know where to start."

"Okay, well how about we start with that article that came out about you?" Raini asked and Laura sighed. "I don't mean to pry into your life, but I'm kind of worried, why would someone make up something like that?"

"It… wasn't made up," Laura answered, not meeting Raini's eyes with her own. "I mean, the world doesn't need to know that, but they sort of do and I'm going to clear it up today."

"You mean you're going to let the whole world know you aren't a virgin?" Raini was genuinely confused. "That doesn't seem like something you'd do."

"No, I mean I'm going to tell the interviewers that it's fake, but it's actually true."

Raini was surprised. Laura, who was usually so fun and outgoing and bubbly had done something that not even Raini had done yet herself.

She thought about the last few weeks, how different both Ross and Laura had been since returning to set to film. How they fought so much and always made up and how angry Laura seemed to be at him.

She and Calum figured it was just unresolved sexual tension in between them, but she realized then that it went way deeper than that.

"I'm going to ask you something kind of personal, you know, more so than the subject of your virginity, but is Ross—"

"Yes." Laura answered a moment later after closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Ross and I had sex six months ago and then he told me it meant nothing and left for six months."

"That's why you two fought so damn much," Raini was finally understanding it. "So, how are you two now?"

"Let me put it to you this way…" Laura trailed off for a moment, noticing the anticipation in Raini's eyes and the way she turned her body towards her. "We're going on our first date tonight."

Raini then let out the loudest squeal she'd ever heard in her life and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tight. Laura sat still, shocked for a moment. "I knew it! I knew you two had feelings for each other!"

"Wasn't that implied already since I just told you we had sex?" Laura sarcastically responded and Raini rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he told me he loved me, twice actually in New York and uhm, he told me about that night, how he lied about how he felt, how he'd been scared and then told me he loved me again. I didn't believe him, he kissed me and then we got interrupted by Max. After Max and I talked I went out to his car, we talked, I told him I loved him and then we shared the most amazing, romantic kiss ever." Laura blinked off into the distance. "I went to rehearsal with him that night and we kissed more, and then this morning he said he couldn't sleep so he woke me up and he said he wanted to dance, so he put on some music and then we danced…" Laura smiled, biting her lip. "It was perfect." She whispered.

Raini had a smile on her face, one that didn't go away after hearing that story. "You two were totally meant for each other."

Laura thought about it for a moment and then slowly nodded. "Maybe, we'll see. But… I don't know. He's literally the most romantic sap I've ever met and I'm lucky he's interested in me, you know? I don't want to lose him."

"Don't worry about it sweetie," Raini told her, "He's not going anywhere."

Laura nodded and the two girls hugged. There was a knock on her door then and Laura looked up to see a stage manager was waving her over.

She slowly got up and walked over to him. "Kevin wants to see you." Her eyes widened slightly and she nodded, before turning to Raini.

"It's most likely about the article," Raini assured her.

"Right, I'll go clear that up with him right now." Laura confidently walked to the couch and picked up her jacket, before looking up at one of her best friends. "He doesn't need to know the truth either," And with one last wink, she walked out of her dressing room towards Kevin's office, not noticing the fact that Raini's mouth had dropped open on her way out of the door.

* * *

She knocked a couple of times and heard the faint, "come in!" signaling it was okay for her to go inside. She opened the door and then sat down facing forward as Kevin put both his hands together and looked right at her.

"Okay, I imagine you know why you're here," He began, Laura held her hand up in a motion to stop him right where he was.

"Yeah it's about the article isn't it?" He nodded and she bit her lip, "Well, it isn't true, it's just a rumor that a classmate of mine made up."

"Yeah," Kevin looked down at the magazine, "The picture's don't seem very realistic and Ross just showing up there doesn't really add up though I don't think he's involved in this too much."

You have no idea, Laura thought.

"But we talked about you getting drunk, I thought we did anyway. You, Ross and I all sat right here and talked about this."

Oh right, she should've remembered that that was something she'd probably get nailed for.

"Look, I'm going through some things and I got invited to a party and I just got a little out of hand, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen and it most definitely wont happen again."

Or at least any other time that you know of, she mentally added.

"So did Ross show up then?"

She could at least tell him that, "Yeah, he did because I texted him to come get me. He didn't drink or anything, but he helped me out and made the classmate who I still have yet to figure out who had done this, upset apparently and he spread a rumor about Ross and I. And you know how those things are… we're stars of a tv show and not just _any _show, a Disney show, so uh… yeah. That I feel is pretty self-explanatory."

Kevin nodded. "Alright, well just be careful next time okay?"

"You're not going to—"

"Honestly, Laura… I think that this," He held up the magazine, "This is punishment enough."

Laura nodded. She didn't know what else to say so she just gave him a wave and walked out very surprised and very confused about what had just gone on.

* * *

"So, he just let you off, without a warning?" Ross asked and Laura nodded. Ross shifted a bit so that Laura could see more comfortably on the couch beside him, but she just lay her head on his chest, his arm around her, playing with her hair.

"It was so strange. His excuse or whatever was that the magazine was punishment enough. What does that mean?"

Ross shrugged, "I'm not sure."

Laura sighed, "Me neither."

It was silent for a few moments before Laura realized that she and Ross had been in his dressing room all of about twenty-five minutes and he had yet to kiss her. She moved slightly so that her chin was on his chest and pouted up at him.

He smiled, amused. "What?"

She pouted again and he still look at her the same way.

"I don't understand," She glared at him and then it clicked. "Oh, you want me to kiss you?"

She nodded.

"Where?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a tease."

"It's fun."

"It wont be if I ban you from kissing me for twenty four hours."

His eyes widened, "You wouldn't."

She grinned, "I would."

He narrowed his eyes as Laura sat up. She threw one leg around his waist and then positioned herself above him, her arms supporting her on his shoulders as she tangled her fingers in his hair. She leaned her forehead against his and he reached up to kiss her, but she pulled back, giggling.

"Who's the tease now?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "But, you love me."

"Sadly." He joked and then before she could say anything he kissed her, his lips pressing against hers hard enough that she couldn't even respond, him sitting up so that he could kiss her again and as if it was possible, he kissed her harder, enough that he'd gotten a moan out of her. She then shifted her body, the lower part of hers brushing against his and he groaned. She smirked and bit down on his lip as she passionately kissed him, her tongue against his as he put his hands on her back and pushed her against him more.

They broke apart, breathing heavily for about two seconds, before Ross couldn't take it anymore and kissed her again.

"R-Ross." She moaned against his mouth as his hands squeezed her sides and then trailed up all the way to her chest. He didn't do anything and Laura was starting to become impatient.

She put his hands on her chest and then gasped as he squeezed her.

He then lifted his head, his hands getting lost somewhere in her hair, kissing her roughly as she just held him in place and kissed him back with just as much passion.

They broke apart, and Laura leaned her forehead against his, catching her breath.

"Holy shit, I did not see that coming," they both heard and broke apart to see that Calum was standing in the doorway, his mouth slightly open.

"Shit," Ross sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"Calum," Laura managed to say, still trying to catch her breath.

"Not trying to be creepy or anything, but that was the hottest kiss I have ever seen." Calum tried not to make eye contact with them, which worked out because Ross and Laura were avoiding it too. "But I also know that that kinda shit isn't tolerated on a Disney Channel show, so that only leaves me to conclude that you two worked your shit out and are now together."

"Close," Ross said.

"Close?" Calum looked confused.

"We're together, sort of yeah, it's not official yet." Ross explained and Laura looked at him. He smiled at her, "you have make-out hair." He teased, pulling on one of her curls.

"I'm gonna go get this fixed, you two talk," She said and Ross nodded, squeezing her hand as she stood up. She walked passed Calum, still trying to fix her hair as she did. Calum watched her for a few moments before he turned to his young costar.

"Alright, explain." He stated as he sat down on the couch.

"Well, you know how Laura's been pissed off with me and we've been fighting a whole lot?" Calum nodded. "It's because we had a… thing six months ago and I left and—"

"Does it have something to do with that article?"

Ross nodded.

Calum thought for a moment. "I'm going to guess it connects with something to do with her being pissed off at you right?"

Ross nodded again. He knew better than to say anything when Calum was trying to figure out something. Ross had a feeling he'd realize it soon.

Calum's eyes widened.

Point one for Ross.

"Wait, did you and Laura—" Calum leaned in closer, his next sentence coming out in a whisper. "Did you and Laura have sex?"

Ross paused and then nodded.

"Holy…" He then looked confused, "Wait, why was she so mad at you then, if you two had sex… wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Because I went on tour for six months and before I left, I lied and told her it was a mistake and that I didn't love her."

"Oh yeah, that would make me mad too." Calum nodded. "Okay, so… what the hell happened in the last week that made her forgive you?"

"I told her the truth. That really works you know," He added. "And then, we kinda decided to take our friendship further for real since I'm not leaving anytime soon… at least that I'm aware of." He smiled at his friend, "We're going on our first date tonight."

Calum smiled, "Well, I'm glad you two worked things out, because I have been waited for you two to bump uglies ever since we all met. Damn."

Ross laughed, "Bump uglies?"

"Right, like you've never heard of that one before."

Ross shook his head, "it's not a Canadian thing is it?"

"More of a California thing I'd say. Though I heard it from my friend who's from the same place I am. He was on a tv show with a girl who grew up here and she told him that about their other two costars who had the same kind of tension so I picked it up from them, indirectly I guess, but anyway… when are you guys gonna do it again?" He winked at him after his ramble session and Ross just rolled his eyes, shaking his head at his friend.

"Not for a while, or maybe tonight." Ross shrugged. "Who knows, it depends on when we're both ready to again."

"Alright," Calum nodded, "My advice? Don't rush it. There isn't a reason to."

Ross smiled, "Thanks man."

"Anytime," Calum leaned back, "Who else is going to help guide you through your girl troubles? Other than your brothers of course."

Ross laughed. Calum was sure interesting, insightful and wise. He had to give him that and was in that moment, very grateful for his friendship since he didn't have too many to begin with being homeschooled his whole life. Having his brothers, sister and Ratliff was pretty cool, but having Calum around wasn't so bad either.

* * *

"How did you two _not _have sex?" Raini asked as Laura sat in the hair and make-up room, staring at her reflection in the mirror. "It looks like you two did it in his dressing room."

Laura imagined that and suddenly felt hot all over. "No, no. We just had an intense make-out session is all."

"Sure thing," Raini shrugged.

Laura smiled at her, "Trust me, it wont be happening until we're both ready."

"I don't know if anyone's told you this yet, but Ross is a boy. He's ready to go at anytime of the day, any moment."

"Yeah I know." Laura sighed. She looked up at Raini through the mirror. "Is it bad that I really want to?"

Raini shook her head, smiling at Laura's blushing cheeks. "No, it's normal. You're a teenage girl," She reminded her.

"I don't think I specified yet how badly." Laura added, she put her head in her hands and shook her head. "It's almost sad."

Raini couldn't hold it in any more and burst into laughter. "Girl, don't worry about it! If you want it, do it. It's natural and normal and it's… Ross. I mean, you two trust each other more than anyone else, other wise you wouldn't have done it the first time."

She had a point there, Laura realized.

Before she could say anything else, the hair and make-up lady walked in and started to work on her hair, getting her ready for the interviews that were in less than an hour.

So, she just sighed and sat back, thinking over what to do and if after what happened that morning, whether or not she'd be able to control herself on their date that night.

* * *

"Hi guys! So we're here with Laura Marano from Austin and Ally," Dana from ClevverTV waved at the camera. Laura smiled and waved as she bit her lip to try and keep her mind off her super hot costar while she did the interview. "How are you today?"

"I'm good! How are you?" She asked.

"Good, good."

They talked a bit about the new season of Austin&Ally and then Dana decided to ask the question that was on everyone's minds. "So, an interesting article came out about you over the weekend."

Laura nodded.

"And we all want to know, if it's just a rumor or if its—"

"It's a rumor." Laura blurted, she held her hand up, a horrified look coming across her face. "Sorry, I didn't meant to just interrupt like that, but it was rumor that someone made up. It isn't true. In fact, it's very private so the fact that something like that was written about me upsets me a lot."

Dana nodded in understanding. "I know girl, I'd feel the same way."

Laura nodded.

"Well, you heard it here on ClevverTV, thanks for the interview—" Dana looked up then and saw that Ross was behind Laura. He held his hand to his lips and motioned for her to be quiet. She smiled.

Ross then wrapped his arms around Laura's neck, surprising her, and causing her to turn around.

"Hi."

Laura smiled, "Hi."

"Oh look, Ross Lynch is here everyone! How are you Ross?"

He shrugged, "I'm alright. Just chillin, tired and looking forward to getting some sleep later," He joked. He took his arms off Laura. "Anyway, I just wanted to say hi, and thank you guys for watching the show and supporting my band. Peace," He held two fingers off and walked away. Laura turned to watch him, rolling her eyes when he winked at her and then smiled at Dana.

"Wow, that was quite the interview, thanks again Laura, and keep watching for more Austin&Ally." She waved and with that, the camera was shut off.

But before she could say anything to Laura…

She had disappeared.

* * *

Ross was on his way to see Calum at crafts service when he felt a tug on his wrist and then felt himself being pulled into a dark and empty hallway. Before his eyes could adjust and before he could say a word, a pair of lips were on his and he was kissing them back.

Laura pushed her body up against his and bit on his bottom lip. He groaned and she kissed him harder, before pulling away and breathing heavily as she just stared at him.

"What was that?" He asked her, a bit surprised she would just attack him like that.

"I want you, Ross." She told him honestly, "and I know that's probably trashy of me, especially because we haven't been on our first date yet, but it's honestly all I could think about while you were gone, even though I was mad at you and all I could think about today, especially after our make-out session this morning." She looked up at him, her brown eyes staring right into his. "I don't know if I can control myself anymore."

He wondered if it should've been the other way around, but ignored that thought and instead focused on her.

"I nearly ran from Dana because I couldn't wait to get you all to myself," She admitted.

"Okay," He whispered, "Meet me at my car after work, okay?"

She nodded. He gave her a soft kiss and then walked out of the hallway.

He walked in a daze to his dressing room wondering what he should do when it hit him. He knew _exactly _what he should do.

* * *

_Dress in sweats._

Laura blinked at the text.

_Sorry?_

She could see him rolling his eyes.

_Wear sweats for our date tonight, you'll like it, I promise. _

She smiled.

_I don't know what you have planned, but I'm really looking forward to it. _

With that, she got ready to meet Ross in the parking lot, wondering what he had in store for her that night.

* * *

**Remember, just because Laura admitted she wanted Ross, doesnt mean it may or may not happen... yet. I'm not gonna tell youuu :] But if I change the rating suddenly you'll know why. **

**So now Calum and Raini know! Yay I just wanted to them to have a moment with Ross and Laura, I think their friendships all together in real life justifies that they would all talk to each other about everything and not hold back. So yeah. There will be more of that later on. **

**Also, if you can guess which actor Calum is talking about with Ross and what show he was on, I will give you a cookie, shout out and... I don't know, what do you want? You gotta tell me if you win :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**I feel like you've waited long enough. I apologize for that wait, I've just been so busy. But here it is. I hope you like it because I may change it. I don't know yet. **

**But awwww at this chapter, it's so cute. Surprise at the end! Sort of. You'll see the result of that next chapter, obviously. **

**Enjoy. I hope you love it! It's cute and sweet and I really like it so you better too. **

* * *

Laura sighed happily, leaning her head against Ross's shoulder, she stared up at the starry night sky.

"This is the most perfect first date in the history of first dates." She told him, her voice low. She kissed him softly and then resumed her spot, staring up at the stairs, her arm wrapping around his, she held him close to her.

"I'm just that awesome I guess," Ross teased her. She rolled her eyes, but she still smiled.

As promised, he had gotten her after work and then took her home. She went inside to shower and get ready for their date, and he reminded her to just wear sweats, nothing too dressy because they weren't going to do anything crazy. The whole time all that had been on her mind was getting dirty with him, but when they went to his backyard to lay in the grass and star up at the sky, all of that went away for the time being. She just wanted to enjoy being with him.

"I've never been on first date with sweats before, so congrats to you for achieving that goal," She told him. "You are one… interesting guy."

"I don't know whether I should feel offended or complimented by that statement," He blinked and she giggled. Leaning in she kissed him again and then broke away from him.

"This night also confirms my many previous statements about you being so romantic. You are one of a kind, Ross."

"Why thank you," He kissed her and then wrapped his arm around her. "You really mean that? Even if we didn't really do much?"

She nodded, "Whatever you planned was perfect. Dinner and stargazing… it's all so perfect, all so… you," She looked right at him. "Simple, easy, romantic, and totally adorable."

"I'm glad you think so," He smiled at her. "So… are we gonna talk about what you said earlier at work?"

"Uh, I think you'll have to be a bit more specific, we talked about like fifty different things."

"About how you said and I quote, '_I want you_'."

Laura's cheeks went pink and she looked down. He lifted her chin and looked right at her.

"Don't be embarrassed, it's normal. We're teenagers." He shrugged like it was nothing.

"Yeah, but it's too soon, you know? We just had our first date tonight and we're not even boyfriend and girlfriend yet and… I don't know. We did it once I didn't feel like it was rushing too fast, but you might and—" She was cut off when Ross' lips pressed against hers. She felt butterflies in her stomach and came to the conclusion that she really loved when he shut her up like that instead of when he used to poke her in her ticklish spot and just made her jump.

"Can I be honest with you?" He asked her and she nodded. He stared at her lips for a few seconds, before blinking and coming back to reality. "I don't think it's rushing."

"You don't?"

He shook his head, "not at all."

"Why not?"

"Because, Laura. I want you too," he said quietly. "But I don't think now is the best time to do… that again."

She nodded, agreeing.

"I don't want it to be like what happened last time, you hated me for months after that."

"You lied to me, remember?"

"Well, I wont be lying to you this time, that's for damn sure." He kissed her gently. She kissed him back and then broke it. "But," he added, "When it's the _right _time, it'll definitely happen."

"So, what do we do until then?"

"Keep making out and ignore our hormones."

She rolled her eyes.

"Or there's other things…" He trailed off, "But, it'll be only if you want it too."

"What about if it's the other way around?" Laura tilted her head, looking at him all adorably he couldn't help but kiss her again.

"I'm a guy, Lorax," She made a face at the nickname and he burst out laughing. "I'm always willing to go for it."

She rolled her eyes. "And that was a total guy answer, but at least you're being very considerate of my feelings towards the situation so I'll let it slide just this once."

"Oh really?" He moved closer to her, his lips just half an inch from hers. "Just this one time?"

She nodded, "Yeah, because you know… you're…" She trailed off, closing her eyes a moment, she opened them and just let out a sigh, "screw it," And then she pulled him to her and kissed him fiercely as he tried to match her dominance. She felt herself being laid back down on the blanket and opened her eyes to see the starry night above her as Ross attacked her lips with his. She moaned into his mouth and then he _whimpered_ and she thought it was the most adorable sound she'd ever heard in the whole world.

His hands trailed along her sides, his fingers dancing in a way and he reached the waistband of her sweats. She nodded and he broke away from her for only a moment, only to kiss her again.

His thumbs rubbed the area where her sweatpants band ended and she let out a huff, which only made him smile. Her hands went to his hair and she pulled him closer, kissing him hard and biting down on his bottom lip which just made him whimper again. This time it was her turn to smile and she slowed down her kissing to just gentle so that they could break apart and catch their breath.

"Holy shit, Laura," He panted, running his fingers through his hair and she just closed her eyes and nodded.

It was silent in between them for a few moments, before they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and looked up to see Rocky was standing there.

Laura's cheeks went red and she sat up, hiding her face in Ross' shoulder.

"Not to break up your…date or porno or whatever, but it's kinda late," He informed them, "and also freezing cold, how are you two alive right now? Actually, don't answer that."

Laura giggled and Ross pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. "Oh shit, it's about eleven thirty."

Laura shrugged, "So? It's not like my mom's waiting up for me or anything."

"No," Rocky agreed, "But your sister is." Laura looked at him confused. "Vanessa's here." He further clarified for her.

"I'd just like to thank you and Vanessa for being cockblocks to the best date ever," Ross muttered and turned to Laura, "No offense."

"None taken, you said exactly what I was thinking," She pointedly glared at Rocky who just held his hands up in surrender.

"Not my fault, you two are still underage. Anyway, try and take it easy maybe?" They both just glared at him, "or maybe not." He started to back away. "I just don't want any Raura babies running around anytime soon!" He called to them, walking back inside and Ross face-palmed while Laura just giggled more.

He then stood up and reached his hand out to Laura who smiled up at him and took it, as he helped her up. He then wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks for this amazing night," She whispered, "It was perfect." She looked up at him.

"Really?"

She smiled and nodded. "Best date I've ever been on and even better, nothing levitated or got smashed in anyone's faces."

"You would find that a highlight of your night," Ross muttered as he kissed her.

She giggled, "It sucks that it has to end."

He shrugged, "Not really… I mean… there's always more dates we could go on and we see each other all the time so… don't think of it as over, think of it as a…" He paused, trying to think of something that would work and make sense when it came to him and he smiled, "it's a to be continued."

Laura smiled and kissed him, "So cheesy." She kissed him again, "so perfect," And then one more time. "and so romantic."

"Love you," He whispered against her lips.

"Love you too." She whispered back and then they shared one last kiss, before he took her hand, intertwining their fingers, they walked into his house where they saw Vanessa and Rydel in mid conversation. As soon as they had walked in, they both looked up.

"Great night?" Rydel asked and Ross and Laura looked at each other a moment, before nodding.

"Amazing," They said together. Vanessa smiled and got off the couch.

"I'll come back another day and we can continue this gossip," She told Rydel who agreed. "Come on, Laura, we've got to get home."

"I'll walk you out," Ross offered and then pulled Laura with him to the front door. He hugged Vanessa goodbye and then kissed Laura softly. "Text me when you're home?"

"Definitely." And with that, he reluctantly let go of her hand, softly closing the door behind him.

"You look like you either just lost your puppy or a lovesick puppy," Rydel said behind him and he jumped, his hand going to his chest.

"Fuck, you scared me."

Rydel laughed. "But seriously," she said a moment later as he walked passed her, towards the stairs. "She's not going away forever, you're most likely gonna see her tomorrow."

"I know." Ross nodded, looking down. "I just miss her is all."

Rydel walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, "I know." Was all she said, before she went upstairs. Ross stood there for a few moments, before following her. He didn't even bother to change and just quietly entered his room where he fell face down on the bed, a big smile on his face, knowing that Laura was going to bed that night feeling the same way.

* * *

"Guys, I have an idea!" Raini nearly squealed as Laura and Ross looked up from her homework and Calum looked up from his phone. "We should do another livestream!"

"Yeah, definitely." Calum agreed, "it's been almost a year, pretty sure it's time for another one."

"Yeah," Laura and Ross agreed together.

"So, livestream? Today during lunch? If you two aren't busy sucking each other's faces off," Raini asked, pointedly waving her hand at the lovesick couple in front of her.

"Yeah, today sounds good," Laura nodded. Ross just wordlessly agreed.

"Good, then today it is," Raini sighed as she went to her twitter app and sent one letting her followers know that it was happening that day. Calum did the same, and Ross retweeted his, Laura tweeting about it excitedly afterwards. He also retweeted that and then they both got bombarded by fans about that one.

"Well, they're definitely excited," Calum joked and they all burst into laughter.

"Oh yeah," Raini nodded. "Are you two going to tell them?"

"Tell them what?"

"That you're together…" Raini trailed off.

"We've only been on one date, and it's not official yet, but even if it was, I don't think so. " Laura shook her head. "But if anyone asks, I'll clear up the rumor about the article once again."

"But it's not a rumor, it's true… I thought." Calum blinked confused.

"She's saying it isn't to protect her privacy," Ross explained and Calum nodded understandingly.

"Well, I do know one thing's for sure," Raini began. "This is going to be one _interesting _livestream."

* * *

The livestream had been going on for about fifteen minutes and Ross felt like he was going to burst or explode or something if he didn't get some alone time with Laura before they had to go on set for rehearsal. He was sitting directly behind Laura who was in front of him, her iPad in hand as she tried to find questions for them to answer.

Luckily, she had avoided all the ones about herself and him, and instead went for ones that were for the group.

"Oh, here's an interesting question," Raini leaned in closer to the screen, "It's for you, Ross." He nodded, "If you could date anyone in the world, who would it be?"

"Easy," He shrugged. "Don't you guys already know who my celebrity crush is?"

"I don't even know the answer to that," Calum said, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Yeah, neither do I," Laura turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

Ross just smirked.

"So, who is it?" Raini asked.

He watched the screen carefully as he got some answers, Megan Fox, Leighton Meester, Maia Mitchell and a few others. He even got Laura, but the one that caught his eye the most was the one that came directly after it.

Ally Dawson.

"Yes!" He answered, pointing at it, "aw it went by too quick, but yeah, you got it. I'm sorry I didn't get the name." He shrugged and looked down at Laura's hair that was directly in front of him. She turned and handed him her iPad as Raini just looked at him confused.

"So, who was it?" She asked him.

"It was…" He tried to think of a name, "uh, the Little Mermaid."

"Really?" Raini raised an eyebrow, "you'd really take a fictional person out on a date?"

"Hey, she's hot, don't judge me."

"So basically what you're saying here is that you'd take out Ariana Grande." Calum clarified and Ross nodded.

"Exactly, dude, high five." He high fived him and Laura looked at him, through the corner of her eye. He winked at her and then pulled out his phone. He sent her a text, which she got seconds later, her eyes lighting up as she read it.

_Someone said Ally Dawson, that's you… so basically you're the one in this whole world I'd take out on a date. _

Laura blushed. She leaned in and whispered something in his ear and then he blushed and she giggled.

"Aw look how cute they are together," Raini gushed and they broke out of the moment, rolling their eyes.

"Austin and Ally everyone, Austin and Ally." Calum smiled brightly into the camera.

"And moving on to the next question, okay." Laura looked at her iPad with Ross. "Uh, here's one, Laura, is that news article that came out about you true?" She looked up at camera and shook her head, "no, sorry guys it isn't. It was a lie and I'm sorry it got leaked out." She then stopped speaking and looked for another question.

Ross though was staring at her. She looked up to see it and he just whispered in her ear, "after this is over, meet me in my dressing room." She nodded and they went back to the livechat.

* * *

"Ross?" She knocked on the door and then slowly opened it. She found Ross sitting on the couch strumming his guitar. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "You wanted me to come here to watch you play the guitar? I've already seen you do that millions of times."

He looked up and then gently put his guitar on it stand, before walking over to her and taking her hands in his. He walked backward and pulled her with him until they were both sitting on the couch.

"No, I wanted you to come here so we could spend some time together," He said, leaning back so that she was on his lap.

"Oh, really?" She asked and he nodded. She gently rubbed his cheek with her hand and then leaned in, giving him a soft kiss. She pulled away and before she could laugh at the fact that her lip gloss was all over his lips, he sat up and kissed her again, pressing his lips against hers harder and kissing her deeper.

She moaned against his mouth softy when he bit down on her lip and he wrapped his arms around her, his hands on her back as he pulled her against him tighter, enough that the lower parts of their bodies moved against each other's, causing them both to moan into each other's mouths.

"Ross," Laura moan-whispered as he kissed her again, "we can't—we can't have sex here." She managed to say as he pulled away, panting.

"We weren't going to," He told her, one of his hands traveling to the hem of her skirt.

She wanted him, she wanted him _badly_, but she remembered their conversation and knew that when they agreed to have sex, they had to both be prepared for it. She also remembered that Ross said they could do _other _things.

But she didn't want to do it in his dressing room, panting and sweating in clothes that wardrobe had made them wear for the day. She felt it was too dirty for Austin and Ally.

"Wait," She pulled away from him completely, her arms on his chest, stretched in front of her. "I don't want to do it here or dressed like Austin and Ally… they're too..."

"Innocent?"

She nodded.

It was quiet for a moment while Ross thought a few things over. He then remembered something and smiled up at Laura.

"What?"

"My family isn't going to be home tonight…" He leaned in and kissed her, "You should come over."

Her heart started to beat fast as the memories of what they'd done together alone, in his bedroom, on his bed hit her. She wondered if he could feel how… _excited _she was.

"Oh really?" She managed to say and he nodded.

"Plus, I need to ask you something so… come over." He said and she bit her lip, pretending to think it over for a few seconds.

She smiled, "Alright," She whispered, "I'll come over."

He kissed her and she kissed him back and they didn't stop until they had to go back to set.

* * *

Ross was lying on his bed, his eyes closed as he listened to the music blasting in his headphones. Rocky had been in his room about fifteen minutes before, telling him he was leaving along with everyone else and that they'd be back later. He had nodded in response and told them to have a great time at the dinner and movie they were going to see (both of which he was not interested in participating in as he'd been very tired).

Or so he told his family.

His phone vibrated on his stomach and he picked it up.

_Rozyyy I'm here. _

He immediately shot out of his bed and threw his phone to the side as he ran down the stairs and since he was running in socks, skidded to a stop in front of the door, crashing into it. He heard giggling on the other side and rolled his eyes. He opened the door and leaned on one arm, giving Laura a nod.

"Sup?"

She rolled his eyes. "Trust me, Ross, you're not as smooth as Austin, as much as you wish you were… you're not."

"Says you," He scoffed. "Besides, Austin is me, so.. .technically he's not as smooth as I am."

She made a face, "That… doesn't really make sense."

"Well, are you as bad a dancer as Ally? No. Ally just isn't as good a dancer as you are, even though you are her. You know what?" He pulled Laura inside, closing the door, he gently pushed her against it, "Forget Austin and Ally, they don't exist anyway."

She giggled, "They kind of do…"

"So you are a know-it-all like her," He whispered.

"Not… really?" She tilted her head.

"Why are we still talking about Austin and Ally, let's talk about Ross and Laura," He murmured before he kissed her.

She pouted, pulling away just slightly. "But talking about Austin and Ally is just so much more fun." She wrapped her arms around his neck, slowly snaking them up his arm and his back. "Even if they aren't real."

"They're us," He reminded her, lightly kissing her.

"So technically we're talking about us."

"No, _technically_ if you don't shut up about them I'm going to tickle you to death."

"That's a pretty damn good way to die," She mused, "happy and ticklish."

He rolled his eyes and then _really _kissed her, bringing her as close as he could, his hands on her waist, he kissed her deeper and harder, until he felt her jump and then her legs wrapped around his waist. She pulled him against her, and he moaned into her mouth.

She felt him against her and bit down on his lip, causing him to groan and pushed her up against the door.

They kissed passionately, crazily and feverishly, Laura's hands going into his hair until she felt like if she didn't breathe soon, her lungs would explode and pulled away. Ross' mouth immediately attached to her neck and she moaned his name.

"Fuck," He muttered, pulling away from her.

She smiled and lowered herself. "Maybe we should move this to a more… comfortable spot?"

He nodded and gently helped her to the ground, before grabbing her hand and pulling her up to his room. She giggled as she fell on her back on his bed, as he closed the door and locked it. A moment later, he came back over to her, his body hovering above hers as he just stared down at her.

"Be mine," He said his voice soft, as he rubbed her cheek with his finger. He gently kissed her and then pulled away.

"You have… no idea how long I've waited for you to say those words to me," Laura tearfully whispered. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Ross stared down at her. She opened them and smiled. "I'm yours, all of me."

He smiled and then kissed her passionately before, pulling away. "Good, because I don't want you to be anyone else's."

"You're mine," She said, "my imperfect, pain in the ass, best friend. I want all of you."

"Trust me, Laura. You had me from the moment we met."

Her heart melted.

"I think it was always mutual." She admitted. "We just didn't know it."

"But we do now." He suddenly flipped them over. "Stay here tonight, don't go home." He emphasized his point by hugging her close.

She smiled, "I think I can arrange that…" She looked into his eyes. "I'll just tell my mom I'm spending the night with my… _boyfriend_."

"Okay, _girlfriend_." He smiled bigger. He fucking loved the sound of that.

He reached up to kiss her and then broke it as Laura thoughtfully looked at him. He tilted his head in question.

"I just want you to know… I was always yours." And then she kissed him and he kissed her and didn't stop until they couldn't anymore.

It was perfect.

* * *

"Why is mom making us clean our room? It's not like it's going to stay that way," Ryland muttered as he picked up a shirt and threw it at Ross, who caught it and gave him a look. "And in the middle of the night too, what the hell? It seems cruel to me."

Ross shrugged. "I don't know, to make us still seem like we're normal I guess." He shrugged and fingered the material of the shirt for a few moments. "It's a good thing dude, trust me." He picked up another shirt and threw them both in the hamper next to him.

"So…" Ryland said after another few moments of silence. "I know it's been about a week or two since you told us about you and Laura, but I'm dying to know… though I may regret asking this. Uh… where did you do it?"

Ross thought about telling him the truth, but first he just wanted to mess with his brother for a minute. "On your bed."

Ryland's eyes widened, "dude you didn't… aw… and I slept in that? Aww fuck, dude! Gross!" He made a lot of disgusted faces and Ross just laughed. "Dude! It's so not funny! What the hell?"

"I'm totally messing with you bro. We did it in my bed, chill."

Ryland still made a face, but not one of digust. "So what, you christened your bed or made it not a virgin or whatever?"

"What?"

"You do realize that's the bed you've had since you were a kid, right? We moved it from Colorado."

"Yeah, I'm aware."

"So, you had sex on it, that means you christened it, like a right of passage or whatever."

Ross thought about it, "I guess so, yeah."

"Makes sense that you lost your virginity on your childhood bed." Ryland said.

"Yeah, but with a girl I love more than anything and she was a virgin too, so…"

"Dude, that's real love right there," Ryland smiled and then threw another shirt at him. "Just don't do it on my bed, kay? That's all I ask."

"Sure thing bro." Ross grinned and then threw the shirt back at him. Ryland laughed and threw another shirt at him. "Dude, this room is never gonna get cleaned if we keep doing that."

"Word, let's get this over with. Laura's out there waiting for you, don't want to keep her waiting too long do you?"

Ross' cheeks turned pink and Ryland burst into laughter.

Ross just shook his head and threw the first thing he picked it up at him, laughing when it hit his little brother and he made a face.

It was nice to talk to Ryland again. Since they grew up sharing a room their whole lives, they were best friends. Even though he was younger, he was very insightful and Ross really enjoyed talking to him.

He smiled to himself. Things we're looking pretty great for him. He couldn't be happier.

* * *

Stormie walked to the other end of the island, she gently placed a cup of hot tea in front of Laura and smiled at her, her hands gong around her own cup of tea. Laura shifted uncomfortably in the chair and it wasn't because Stormie was so close to her or Rydel, who was next to her as well.

"So, it's official now?" Rydel asked, "you and Ross?"

Laura smiled as she thought of the last few hours she spent alone with him and how he'd asked her to be his girlfriend. And how he'd been so sweet, loving and so gentle to her.

"Yup, as of a few hours ago." She shifted again and Rydel raised an eyebrow while Stormie smiled knowingly at her.

"It sucks that you made him clean his room," Rydel commented and Stormie sighed.

"It was getting pretty messy in there. It was time he and Ryland did some cleaning." She took a sip of her tea and it was silent between the ladies for a few moments. Laura decided to take a sip of her drink then, not realizing it wasn't the right time, until Stormie asked the question. "So, did you two use protection?"

Laura spit out her tea in shock, her hand coming up to her dripping mouth, her eyes watering as she almost choked on the tea, but managed to calm herself down, her eyes wide a few seconds later.

"Wh-what?" Laura shifted again and Stormie gave her a pointed look as Rydel handed Laura a napkin. "I don't understand."

"You look like you're in a ton of pain, sweetie and you keep shifting around, a bit uncomfortably might I add."

Laura tried not to show any pain on her face as she realized she'd been caught. She prayed that Ross wasn't going to show up any time soon. Talking about her sex life with his mother and sister was mortifying enough on it's own.

"Uh, yeah, but that's because… my back is hurting?" She tried.

"Oh I bet," Stormie laughed and Laura looked at Rydel horrified, but Rydel was just laughing her ass off.

"Was he at least gentle?" Stormie asked her and Laura's mouth dropped open at how blunt she was being. Especially since she was usually so kind, patient and quiet.

"I…" She trailed off. "I don't know how to answer that."

"Just be honest," Stormie assured her. "It's just us girls, I'm not going to tell anyone else."

She thought about her sister and her mother and even Raini who would have loved to hear about it, anyone but her boyfriend's mother.

But then again, Stormie was like a second mother to her after all.

She realized she could do it, talk to Stormie about something as personal as sex, even if it was with her son and as embarrassed as she was, she knew it wouldn't be a bad thing in the long run. Though it was still awkward, that she knew wouldn't change no matter who it was she was talking to, unless it was Ross of course.

"Yes." She said, "he uhm, was very gentle." She looked at Rydel who was leaning her elbow on the counter, her head in her hand.

"At least he's got that going for him, Mr. Romantic," Rydel teased.

"But it wasn't… uhm, our first time doing those kind of... things." Laura reminded them.

"Yeah, I'm trying to erase that from my mind." Rydel muttered and Laura laughed.

After Ross had asked her to be his girlfriend, she just felt so much love for him in that moment that she decided she was ready to go further. Though it had only been about a day since they had their date, and it was a bit fast, the fact that they'd already had sex, made it seem like it wasn't as fast as they thought it was. Since they both wanted it and they were ready for it and they loved each other, why not they figured. Though they didn't exactly have sex, it was still very intimate, and they felt so much closer.

Since she hadn't had much sexual experience except for the first time with Ross six months ago, the fact that she was in pain was normal, she figured. And when they were ready to go all the way again, she hoped that it wouldn't hurt as much.

"He just loves you so much," Stormie whispered.

"I know." Laura smiled, "I love him too."

Rydel smiled at her and Laura looked down at her cup of tea, her cheeks warming up, she just smiled to herself and thought about how lucky she was. She was happy and nothing was going to ruin that.

Even if she had to have awkward conversations about her sex life with Rydel and Stormie. She realized it was all worth it. As long as she got to be with Ross, anything was worth it.

* * *

Laura giggled against Ross's lips as he squeezed her gently. "I have to go," She whispered, "We have to be on set in like two hours."

"Yeah, yeah, don't go yet," He murmured against her lips and kissed her again. "Can't I just do this all day? Screw work. They don't really need us anyway."

Laura rolled her eyes, "Right, the two stars, they really don't need them. Couldn't agree with you more." She responded sarcastically, narrowing her eyes.

He just kissed her again. "Stop talking, you're ruining the effect of the moment," She burst into laughter, "And that just made it worse."

"I'd poke you, but you'd find a reason to kiss me if I did."

"I think I'd find a reason to kiss you even if you didn't poke me," He told her and kissed her again, sucking on her bottom lip as he pulled away. "See?"

She rolled her eyes, but kissed him anyway, a short peck. He pouted.

"You'll get more later," She winked at him, rubbing his cheek, before pulling away and getting out of his car. She gently closed the door and then walked over to his side. He rolled down the window and she leaned into it. "Love you."

"Love you too, Lorax." He responded, looking at her for a few moments he just went for it and kissed her again. "See you in a couple hours."

She nodded and pulled away so he could back out. She watched him until she couldn't see him anymore and then walked into her house. She opened the door and softly shut it. Then she walked into the kitchen where she saw her mother.

"Hey, where's Vanessa? I need to talk to her," She said as she opened the refrigerator.

"She went to set early." Ellen told her, as Laura closed the refrigerator door. She held the drink in her hand and picked up a peach to eat on her way upstairs to her room. She looked up at that moment and noticed that her mother wasn't alone.

The man slowly turned around, "Hello, Laura."

She dropped her fruit and drink at her feet, her eyes widening in shock, she just stood there for a few moments, before she managed to say something.

"D-dad?"

* * *

**What? What is going on? **

**All will be revealed soon if it doesnt take me another year to post a new chapter, that is. I may have typos, I noticed I have a few of those since I've damn time I update, I'm sleepy.**

**And they're _finally _together. Damn. Took forever, I swear man. Jeez.**

**BUT GUESS WHAT. I'M GOING TO AN R5 CONCERT SATURDAY AND I'M SO EXCITED. I have seats close enough to the stage that I'll be able to like perfectly see them and Ross... ahh, I'm like fangirling now and I'm not even there yet. Hah, I traveled from Toronto to LA too, can you say dedication? Damn.**

**But my best friend and cousin are going with me so it's all gooood. **

**Anyway, I have a question, if I were to make a twitter, would you guys follow me? I had one ages ago, but I never used it and forgot the password and user name, so I'll make a new one I suppose, but only if you guys want me to. **

**Alright, I hope you enjoyed this. Goodnight lovelies! I need to sleep :]**


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